Algus Learns a Lesson
by TimeCapsulesLost2
Summary: What if Teta (Tietra) survived her abduction, and Algus (Argath) eventually had to eat his foul words about commoners? AU, but stays true to the plot of Tactics in all but this one point. Invented some additional backstory about some of the characters. Algus/Teta, and some Delita/Ovelia in later chapters. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: _I own nothing in here. This story is an alternative to what happened at Fort Ziekden. There will be sex scenes, beginning in Chapter Two. But I think the plot is a good read, too, even if you prefer to skip the sex parts. Background info/AU: Algus Sadalfas (Argath Thadalfas) and Teta Hyral (Tietra Hyral) are the only survivors of the explosion at Ziekden, after the Beoulves flee the scene. When Teta awakens, she finds Algus unconscious and badly hurt. She digs through the wreckage and finds potions to heal him. Since Algus now owes her his life, he agrees to let her journey home with him, since she cannot return to the Beoulves. He gives her work as a governess to his 3-year-old sister. Two-and-a-half years have passed… This story is technically the sequel to the story I wrote 11 years ago, called Algus Returns, by TimeCapsulesLost, which is also available to read on this site. But I think you can understand and enjoy this story on its own, even if you do not read that prequel. DISCLAIMER: I do not condone or recommend any of the actions of words of any of the characters in this fic, it is written purely for entertainment._

**Chapter One**

Her mind had begun to drift toward sleep when his hand stroked over a raised scar on her shoulder. "When did you get that?" he asked lazily. She was absurdly soft and perfect everywhere, save for this one spot. Teta felt a bit of her cozy pleasure fade away at the question. He had played no small part in the misery of that day. She did not want to think of it now, and she tried to push the memories out of her brain, but to no avail.

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She was filthy. She had been wearing the same dress and underclothes for days, if not weeks. It was hard to keep track of time while tied with ropes in the dirty corner of a windowless, abandoned storage room. The fabulous purple gown she had been wearing, courtesy of her foster family, the noble Beoulves, was already stained beyond repair. Teta could not believe how quickly things had gone from bad to worse for her: starting with the punch to her gut that knocked her breathless as she was thrown over Golagros' shoulder and stolen away from Igros castle. She was next hauled across a chocobo's back, Golagros' knees and fingers digging into her tender flesh everywhere, and raced away at top speed. She screamed for Delita until the castle was out of sight, and then she screamed at her assailant, begging to know why she had been taken. No matter what she shouted, he did not reply.

Time passed, and she was bruised from the jostling of the ride, and also aching from lack of access to a chamber pot for so long. When the men stopped for a rest somewhere deep in the woods, she wasn't even allowed to pee privately; one of them stood right next to her while she squatted by a tree to relieve herself. She doubted she could outrun these grown men, but even so, it seemed they would not take any chances of letting her escape. She took advantage of the break to ask yet again why she had been kidnapped from her home, tears once again streaming down her face. A group of only four men had split off to ride with her and her kidnapper into the woods. None of them would meet her eye, and none of them replied to her. Everyone had a chance to piss and take a drink of ale from a flask hastily passed around. Now her kidnapper, whom she later learned was called Golagros, boosted her up onto a chocobo, more gently this time, and then climbed up behind her. As an extra precaution, he took a moment to tie her left wrist to a strip of cloth that he then tied onto his belt. There would be no jumping off and running away. They rode for a very long time.

She spent days held at another location before she was finally taken to Ziekden Fortress, and she did her best to listen to the men's hushed conversations. It was clear they did not want her to hear, so she thought perhaps she might learn some information that would help her if she could just listen hard enough. The men still refused to answer her questions. On one occasion, Golagros murmured to her that she would be returned safely home eventually, as long as she kept quiet and stayed put. Sometimes one of the men barked at her to be silent when she asked her questions. Mostly, they acted as if she wasn't even there, except when it came time to provide her meager rations of food and untie her ankles to allow her to use a chamber pot.

Teta slept on the floor, with nothing for comfort. Golagros and the other men had not harmed her or touched her inappropriately. But she sometimes saw them glance at her, at her body, and she thought perhaps they were considering it. She now kept her eyes on the floor at all times, deciding that she ought to stay as invisible as possible. She felt constantly on the edge of a panic attack, like her mind might shatter completely if she gave in, and she often whispered to herself over and over again, _Delita and Ramza and Zalbag will save me, Delita and Ramza and Zalbag will save me…_ But why had they not come? How many days had it been? She would have cried herself to sleep most nights, if she was not already so dehydrated.

Teta laughed bitterly to herself sometimes when she realized she had been ungrateful for her life before the kidnapping. She had thought things were hard, being a common-born girl at a school for the elite. The other girls, except Alma, of course, made fun of her frequently. They did not like sharing their halls with a girl they considered trash, a common _farmer's _daughter, and they made it clear to her with a thousand little snubs. They told her she was too ugly to suit the lovely gowns she wore, whispered that she wouldn't need finery in the brothel she was destined to end up working in. The nastiest of the girls had once implied that Teta was a whore to both Dycedarg and Zalbag, and that was why they paid for her nice things. Alma had often tried to defend her, and had yelled at the girls that Teta was as fine a lady as they were. That had simply led to Alma being outcast by most of the others as well. Teta had hated feeling like she didn't fit in at school, and she had hated knowing that she made life harder for Alma.

But now all of that seemed like a paradise, in comparison to limbs bound with rope and wondering whether she would be executed at any moment. To even exercise her legs each day, she had to hop around in circles. She swore to Ajora that if she escaped this horrible place then she would be more grateful for her lot in life, whether small or grand.

Teta learned nothing from her captors until a man named Wiegraf arrived, and had a heated argument with Golagros, the man who had kidnapped her. It seemed that Wiegraf wanted Golagros to let her go. For a moment, her heart raced with hope, but it was nearly as quickly crushed as they continued to speak and she came to understand why she was here. They thought she was a Beoulve daughter, someone important, someone valuable. Oh, Ajora. She almost called out at that point. She was one breath away from yelling to them that she _wasn't _a Beoulve, that they had made a mistake and now they could just let her go home! She stopped her tongue just in time. She had no proof that they would let her go safely. If they found out she wasn't actually valuable, wasn't anyone worth ransoming… why then, those men who had given her sidelong glances might realize there were no consequences to hurting her after all. And simply letting her go with a polite farewell might not be their preferred way to handle the situation. She lowered her head again without speaking a word to the man named Wiegraf. _Delita and Ramza and Zalbag will save me, Delita and Ramza and Zalbag will save me…_

And one day her supposed saviors did, in fact, arrive. Teta was grabbed from her corner of the basement of Ziekden fortress, and Golagros raced to remove the bindings from her ankles and wrists, which were chafed horribly. He gave her a terrifying grin. "Your family is here, noble brat! Just stay quiet and do as I tell you, and I'll be handing you over soon. You're my fuckin' ticket out of this place alive, so I won't hurt you as long as you keep still. Got it?" Teta tried to croak out a 'yes', found that her voice was too rusty from disuse, and simply nodded. He helped her to stand, and then led her up the stairs of the fortress.

Some minutes later, Golagros' companions gave a warning shout from downstairs, and Golagros steered her out onto the second-story walkway, holding her in front of him, her elbows pinned in his hands. It was shockingly cold, fully winter, with light snow coming down. But even so… Yes! She had hardly dared to believe Golagros' words, but there in the distance ahead she saw what was unmistakably the Beoulve house banner, with Zalbag's personal banner flying below it! They were here, and she was saved! She wanted to run back down the stairs and into her brother's arms, but Golagros still held her tightly. She waited, bouncing on her toes to try to stay warm in the biting wind.

As the troop approached, she was able to recognize Zalbag's face from afar. She was bursting with happiness to see him, but she did not call out, for fear of upsetting Golagros. Zalbag and the majority of his troops stopped their march at that distance, they spoke amongst themselves for a moment, and then three men strode forward a bit closer than the rest, within firing range: two mages and one soldier with a crossbow. At this, Golagros shouted, "Get back with the others! Quickly now, or this one's blood stains the snow!"

_What? _Teta blanched. He had said he would not harm her!

She also realized that she recognized the soldier with the crossbow. It was Algus, the young man who had recently befriended her brother and Ramza. Alma had commented that she thought Algus was handsome, though she and Teta had only spoken to him for a moment. Now Teta was happy for any familiar face and she stared down at Algus, trying to plead with her eyes: _please help me! Don't you recognize me from Igros castle? _He did not meet her gaze, however, and he seemed to be looking everywhere except for right at her.

Golagros continued, "Do not test my patience! This fortress packs a store of powder you could scarcely imagine! More than enough to blow us all to the Father's keeping!"

Zalbag retorted loudly across the field, "The Order of the Northern Sky yields not to rogues!"

Through her terror, Teta noticed a group of figures gathered to the left of Zalbag's troupe, as close to the fortress as her captors would allow without a fight. A bright blond head with a short pony tail, and a dark-haired man beside him.

"Teta!" Delita bellowed to her.

All thoughts of Golagros gone for a moment, she strained forward, shrieking, "Delita!" He was here, thank the gods. She would survive this; her brother would not let anyone harm her.

Golagros shook her to make her be still. "Leave now!" he shouted again, "I will not warn you again!"

Zalbag called out, "This changes nothing. Algus, loose!"

"Yes, my lord!" Algus replied. He lifted his bow and pointed. Teta felt a moment of utter unreality. There was a lethal weapon pointed at her, by a boy she thought an ally. There wasn't even time for her to cry out before he shot the bolt. She squeezed her eyes shut in terror, but no pain followed the shot. She felt the whoosh of the bolt passing very close to her left arm, probably within only an inch or two of missing her body. Realizing she was unharmed yet, she let out a terrified sob.

"What- what is this?" exclaimed a stunned Golagros from behind her. Clearly, he was as shocked as she was that Zalbag's men would fire at her.

Suddenly quite a lot was happening at once, and Teta could barely see it all through the falling snow. Both Ramza and Delita shouted in rage, and began running in different directions: Ramza toward Zalbag, and Delita toward her. _Oh god, no! _she thought, desperately. Delita was making what would be a suicide run into the mass of the Death Corps. men at the base of the fortress, trying to save her. Ramza looked like he might cut down his own brother, his sword in hand as he sprinted toward Zalbag, a frozen scream on his face, and Zalbag's men beginning to cluster around to defend their lord as Ramza drew nearer. Algus was reloading his cross bow, which she knew would take him a minute or so.

In that moment of utter chaos, Zalbag shouted his next order, to the mage standing beside Algus. "Richard, DO SOMETHING!" Zalbag shrieked, sounding like a toddler in the throes of a tantrum.

Immediately, as if he had been deaf to Golagros' threats of the explosive powder in the fortress, the mage called Richard summoned a Fire attack and hurled it in Golagros' direction. In his haste, the attack missed by several feet. Perhaps fear of lord Zalbag's rage had driven Richard to act so quickly and thoughtlessly, but his motives truly did not matter to anyone as the fireball crashed through the wall of Ziekden fortress behind Teta and Golagros. There was no time to register what was happening, whether Algus had had time to reload, whether Ramza or Delita had reached their targets yet, because suddenly the world exploded in orange flames and Teta's body was thrown, blasted, far from the walkway, and into the soft snow below.

When she woke from her concussion a short while later, it was to find a silent wasteland, with a soft coating of snow already forming on top of her. She ached everywhere, but somehow, miraculously, she had survived the blast and survived her landing thanks to the deep snow around the fortress. After gingerly patting herself down, Teta believed her only serious injury was from a sharp hank of wood that had become lodged in her shoulder during either the explosion or her fall. Mere feet away, she spotted the corpse of Golagros, her abductor. His face was undamaged, blank in death, but the back side of him was charred, and full of bits of stone and wood. She had never seen a dead body before. She waited for some sort of horror or fear to come to her, but strangely she felt nothing at all, except cold from the snow, of course. She realized groggily that his body being directly behind hers on the walkway had saved her from taking the worst of the blast. She stood. She needed to find a potion to stop her bleeding, and a place to keep warm before she died from exposure…

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Shaking out of her reverie, and lightly touching the scar on her shoulder, where his fingers already rested, Teta replied simply to Algus: "It happened at Ziekden, when I fell from the bridge, I suppose."

The sudden tension in his muscles told her that this possibility had not crossed his mind. In the nearly three years since that nightmarish winter day, they had never once discussed the crossbow shot he took in her direction. Some days she told herself he had meant the shot to miss. Other times, the crueler voice in her head claimed he wouldn't have minded if the bolt struck into _her_ instead of missing, or hitting Golagros. The entitled boy she had rescued from death in the snow at Ziekden had thought her less than nothing, a worthless common maid whom he now inconveniently owed a debt of gratitude for saving his life.

How odd that now she should end up _here_. The long-ago memory mingled with the images of what they had just done in his bed, and she momentarily did not know how to reconcile those two scenes. She buried her face in his side, wrapped her arm tightly around his torso, and willed the old memories away for now. His heart was beating faster, after her mention of Ziekden. He was no more ready to discuss it than she was, unwilling right now to recall the vicious snap of Zalbag Beoulve's voice behind him, the crossbow in his half-frozen hands, and her terrified face high above him. He squeezed her tightly with both arms, and for a moment that was just what they both needed, to hold each other to keep the horror of their pasts at bay. They would hash it out one day, probably, but please not tonight.

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	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note: All right, guys, here is chapter two! I think there will probably be seven or eight chapters total, when I'm done writing this (I've been really enjoying writing it, so new chapters will likely appear quickly). Reviews are welcome; I would love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading._

**Chapter Two**

"We should put out the candles," Teta said, after she and Algus had lapsed into silence. They had a long day ahead tomorrow, and precious few hours left to sleep.

"No, not yet," he insisted, suddenly roused and pushing up onto his forearms. "I'm not ready to sleep." He looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him, no trace of his usual arrogance left on his face, only an earnestness that made her grin a little. "I… I've waited so long for this. I don't want the night to end this fast." He put his hand on her cheek and stroked her hair back from her face. "I want to have you again, Teta."

She recalled the feel of him inside her body not long ago. She ached between her legs, even though he had tried to be gentle with her. Still, she smiled to see him so eager for her. She enjoyed the rare moments when his cool façade completely fell away. "Algus," she sighed, "I don't think I can handle that again this soon, I still hurt from before."

"Let me fetch you a potion!" he insisted. He jumped up from the bed, still naked, and dashed out of the chamber. She pulled the bedcovers up over herself while he was gone. Upon his return from the adjacent sitting room, he held a small blue vial. "Drink this."

She hesitated. "I know those are expensive. I will not be able to pay you back for it on my governess wage."

He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and gave her an incredulous look. "You really think," he said, "that after you've so sweetly given me your virginity, I would make you _pay_ me for a potion afterward?" He smiled, but a quick moment later became very serious. "I had not given it thought earlier, but truly, Teta, I've just taken something of great worth from you, and given you nothing in return. Drink the potion. I promise, I will not even take you again tonight, but drink it now anyway."

She sat up, clutching the covers to her chest, and downed the vial he held out. "Thank you, Algus." He took the empty vial from her and set it down on the table beside his bed.

"Better?" he asked.

She had immediately felt the potion take action in her body to relieve her aches and pains. She smiled at him, truly pleased. "Yes, all better."

"You covered yourself," he said with a disappointed look, noting the bedclothes pulled up over her body. "If I cannot have you again tonight, at least let me look at you." He gave a small tug at the blanket she held, but she clutched it even tighter. It was odd, in the heat of lust she had not been terribly embarrassed to have him remove her nightdress and underclothes, but now that they were simply talking with each other, she felt shy all over again. "I know it's silly, after what we just did together, but now I feel sort of embarrassed for you to see me naked again," she explained haltingly.

His eyes seemed to glitter with excitement at this new challenge and he bent forward, pressing his lips to her exposed collarbone, her neck, up to her mouth, where he kissed her thoroughly. He grabbed her hands one by one and pried the coverlet out of her fingers. As she wrestled for it, he yanked the blanket back. She once again tried to cover herself with her hands, but he grabbed them and pinned them to her sides.

Although he had already bedded her, this was the first chance he had had to really look at her body. Earlier, his mind had been utterly consumed with getting his hands and mouth all over her, his cock inside of her. He saw now that her breasts were perky and surprisingly full for a girl with such a small frame. "Why in hell would you be embarrassed for me to see that?" he asked in wonder. He traced the curve of her right breast with his fingers, then cupped its weight in his palm, stroked his thumb over her nipple. He looked up at her face once more, and she gazed back at him for a moment, her lips parted as if unsure what to do or say. "You're so beautiful," he murmured.

He had called her 'beautiful' or 'pretty' a few times before now, but this was the first time Teta actually believed him. So many people, including Algus himself, had called her ugly in the past that she had a hard time believing it was not the truth. But the look in his eyes now, as he admired her by the bedroom's candlelight… well, she did not think that look could be feigned. There was so much desire in his face, it gave her a feeling almost like pride.

"Lay back on the bed," he demanded, pulling the covers all the way down, so her legs were once again exposed as well. She complied, releasing her sitting position to lie backward. For a split second, she again felt the urge to cover up with her hands, but she fought it this time, even though she was completely bare in front of him. She reached over and held his hand for a bit of added courage.

From his seat on the edge of the bed, clutching the hand she offered him, Algus lustily looked over his lover's body. Beneath those perfect breasts, her waist was tiny and her belly and thighs were sweetly soft and palest white. He saw her begin to try to cross one leg over the other, as if to hide her pussy from him, but she abandoned the movement mid-way through, and let both legs relax flat as she gave a small sigh of resignation. He happily recalled how wet she had been for him, as he had pushed his cock inside her for the first time. After that, there had been quite a bit of blood from the loss of her virginity, and this had caused her some deal of pain, through which he had not been able to give her any pleasure.

Algus intended to keep his promise not to penetrate her again tonight, but still he was not _satisfied_. He wanted more from her; in whatever way he could get it. He wanted very badly to give her pleasure and see her orgasm as hard as he had earlier. Without warning, he grabbed the knee that was closest to him and spread her legs apart as far as he was able, with only one free hand to use. He caught just a peek between her legs before she snapped her knees back together, flustered.

"You said you would not take me again tonight!" she exclaimed.

"I wasn't! I won't. Truly," he assured her, with a teasing smile. "Can I not just look at you? Touch you with my fingers, perhaps, since you do not hurt any longer?"

"You want to look at me _there_?" Teta asked, bewildered. She had never really considered that part of her body as something a man would want to look at for pleasure. She tried to sit up again, but Algus moved over her on his hands and knees and pressed her back down.

"Of course I want to see your pussy," he said, as if it was obvious. His voice sounded hoarse. He leaned down suddenly and opened his mouth wide, taking as much of her left nipple and breast into his mouth as he could and sucking tightly on it for a moment. She gasped. When he released it, he grinned wolfishly to see her nipple hardened, and he lightly kissed it. Teta felt her limbs go weak with lust as he gave her other breast the same treatment. Now he was reaching down to pull her legs apart again, and she opened them willingly, dizzy from the tingly heat he had sent shooting between her nipples and her groin. He shifted so both of his legs were between hers, and he kissed a warm trail down her stomach.

She whimpered with nervousness as he used his fingers to spread the lips of her sex apart. Having cleaned themselves up earlier, he saw no trace of blood or even his own seed left on her. She was rosy pink and glistening wet for him, her entrance still looking so tight and inviting. He looked up at her anxious face as he leaned close and slid the tip of his tongue one time gently over her clit.

She yelped wordlessly in shock, and tried to buck away from his mouth. He grabbed her hip tightly and pressed his lips and tongue firmly down onto her. She arched her back and cried out, "Algus, please!" at first because the sensation was too much and she feared she would scream and wake the whole household. His mouth did not release her sensitive flesh, his tongue moved firmly up and down and up and down on her clit and she felt a helpless panic. Something was building between her legs and she did not understand it. She squirmed in his grip. "Oh gods. Algus, please… Oh. Ohhhh," she clutched handfuls of the mattress in desperation, but she realized she was no longer trying to stop him. Whatever was coming, this tight pressure he was causing within her, her body now fiercely wanted him to continue.

A moment later, the pleasure finally exploded within her and she gasped his name again and again as she climaxed against his mouth. He did not loosen the seal of his lips and tongue on her, but he watched her writhe and moan with enormous satisfaction. _This _was what he had needed to happen in order to feel the night was complete; he was quite pleased with himself for making her come. He pushed up onto his hands and looked at her flushed face. "Did you like that, Teta?" he asked, smiling because he already knew the answer.

"Oh yes," Teta whispered, "yes." She was limp beneath him. He went up on his knees to give her a clear view of how aroused he was now. She stared languorously at his huge erection, and this time she felt no fear of it. She felt _ready _for him now, eager even, to have him inside her. As she watched him, he wrapped his hand around the base of his hard cock and slowly squeezed it once up and down. Her legs were still apart, and she intentionally spread them wider open before him. "Will you take me now, Algus?" she begged.

He groaned weakly at the sight, and her words. "I—promised you I would not tonight." He could hardly get the words out, he wanted to fuck her so badly.

"May I release you from that promise?" she asked, hopefully.

He did not even manage a verbal reply, emitting something like a choked growl as he dropped down and quickly thrust himself into her tight wetness. Teta moaned her satisfaction at the feel of his cock filling her pussy so well. There was no pain this time, only a lustful ache from her body's desire to come again. They were both breathing heavily as he found his rhythm on top of her. She felt like he was hitting every spot inside her that needed stroking, needed so much to be touched, and that sweet pressure was already building again.

Teta lost herself in the joy of him for some time. She groped his strong triceps, rubbed her hands over his broad straining shoulders, gripped a handful of his golden blond hair at the nape of his neck as he steadily thrust inside her. She was burning up where their bodies were joined, she was so close, so close. He felt her tightly locked around his shaft, felt her mounting tension and her sharp shallow breaths.

"Yes, Teta, come again for me," Algus murmured, "I want to feel you come on me now…" The low sound of his voice pushed her over the edge, and as he wished, she orgasmed so hard it was shocking to her. Waves of pleasure filled her body, made her breath come strangled for a moment, as she jerked her hips up to meet his and her pussy squeezed his cock in tight pulses. Algus happily responded in kind, releasing himself deep inside her with a hard thrust that made her cry out her pleasure. He remained inside her a moment longer after his own orgasm ended, feeling the final tremors from hers. When her breathing had slowly returned back to normal and her fingers released their death grip on his shoulders, he dismounted from her, rolling onto his side and cradling her head against his chest.

"That was-" she paused to think of the right word, "-wonderful, Algus."

He couldn't help smiling hugely, even knowing he must look like an idiot. "I'm happy you enjoyed it this time," he replied honestly. "You were so sweet," he murmured. She made a small happy sound and nestled her face more comfortably into his chest.

Algus had worried that he might not be able to please her. The sad truth was, the only women he had bedded before her were a few prostitutes and, on one occasion, the 30-something-year-old wife of a country squire. The squire himself had been away from home while Algus' platoon was camped on his land, and the woman had taken an interest in Algus and secretly invited him up to her chambers. He had been only eighteen years old, but already taller and broader than many older men. And he was lonely, and eager to learn whatever she was willing to teach him in bed. After months of rough camp living and battles, he truly had not cared that she was married and older than he. The squire's wife had been the one to show him the trick of using his mouth to please a woman. Still, it had been a long time since that encounter, and he had never been with a girl as innocent as Teta, so he had felt unsure of himself.

"I love you," Teta murmured to him.

"I love you as well, Teta," he replied easily.

The situation still, in fact, felt a bit unreal to Algus. In the years that she had served as his little sister's governess, he had seen Teta change from an awkwardly skinny adolescent into a beautiful maiden. He had fantasized about taking her; quite a lot, actually. There had been days that he could not even meet her eye if they crossed paths in the manor, from the guilt of what he had imagined her doing with him the night before.

But despite his desire for her, Algus had never truly believed he would get to have Teta in his bed. She was quite devout, and when he had begun paying attention to her a few months ago, she had made it clear she thought it was wrong to have sex outside of marriage. He had no such compunctions himself, having never felt much passion or interest for the church (though he would not admit that out loud, lest he be branded a heretic like Ramza Beoulve). Now he felt a bit dumbfounded, and very grateful, that after months of refusal, Teta had actually come to his door, and decided to let him have her virginity. He had not been jesting with her when he told her he did not want the night to end so quickly; he was still soaking it all in, still reveling in the fact that she wanted him. He estimated that there were only three hours or so left until sunrise. Still, he did not want to sleep.

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Teta felt like her eyes had only been closed for a minute before it was already dawn, and time for her to hastily creep up to her own bedroom so no one else would know she had slept in her lord's chambers. She scrambled to pull on her underclothes and nightgown before it was too late. Algus hopped out of bed as if he felt the lack of sleep not at all, and he made it difficult for her to finish the job of dressing, grabbing her waist from behind and squeezing her close, kissing the side of her head.

She playfully batted at him. "I need to hurry! Everyone will wake any moment!"

"We need to move you out of that little room in the attic," he commented. "You are mine, now. You must have better circumstances than that. I was thinking we might move Layla into the empty chambers meant for the lady of the house, and give you Layla's room."

Teta raised her eyebrows. "Those are quite grand chambers for a little girl, even a noble one."

"Well," he said, "it is either those or one of the guest chambers."

"No," she agreed, "I see what you mean. It would not be acceptable to have Layla in a suite next door to guests… I would love to have a bedroom closer to yours, Algus, but are you sure? Layla's nursery room is still rather grand for a governess. I am not sure what the other servants might think of me being granted such a change."

He made a gesture like a shrug. "What they think matters naught. I am their lord, and they are here to serve me, not to question my choices."

For the moment, Teta willfully ignored the resurfacing of his arrogance. She knew that nothing would stop the servants from judging _her. _She knew that gossip might start, if she were moved into the bedroom so near Algus' chambers. The gossip would never reach his ears, of course, but the other servants would not hesitate to insult her to her face, if they believed she had become their lord's whore. And, oh gods, it would actually be true. Teta was not sure if she could lie to them convincingly if she was asked whether she was bedding her master. She ought to refuse Algus' offer. But she had always been uncomfortable in her tiny attic room, so hot in the summer and cold in the winter. And how much easier to come to his bed every night if she were only two doors away… She could not bring herself to say no. Instead, she smiled and thanked him, and hurried upstairs as silently as she could. She needed to get Layla ready for their trip into town later that day.

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_Author's note: So, if you want to read all about what happened with Teta and Algus earlier in this night, then please go read my other fic under the author TimeCapsulesLost, which is titled Algus Returns. But again, if you don't want to go read that other fic, this story is able to be read on its own, I'll still include plenty of backstory in future chapters of this fic. Hope you're enjoying so far, thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

In the jolting carriage, Teta helped to lift her six-year-old charge up to the tiny clouded window of the door so she could see the trees fly by them. They were planning to visit a seamstress in town to have Layla fitted for new gowns, as she had grown much that year and was rapidly running out of dresses that fit and were appropriate to a lady of her station. Algus had enlisted one of the boys who served in the stables to drive the covered carriage drawn by two chocobos while he, Teta, and Layla rode inside.

The carriage was old. It had been in his family since his grandfather's time, before the man's humiliating fall from power and favor. In his grandfather's youth, the Sadalfas family had owned multiple carriages, all new, with sparkling fresh paint and gilt. The Crown had seized most of the Sadalfas holdings, including the castle in which his family had previously resided, and the rest of their great estates, upon his grandfather's treason.

They had left Algus' father only the manor home Algus currently resided in, with the modest amount of farm holdings and land surrounding it, plus what gold and smaller possessions he had left. Algus knew that his father had been lucky to retain even that. The Crown _could _have decided to destroy the Sadalfas name altogether, but had shown a small amount of pity. His father had been in line to inherit the title of earl, and he was instead demoted to 'country squire' after his own father's betrayal.

Algus had never known the grandeur of life during his grandfather's time, but his father had spoken of it endlessly in his presence. _You must use this opportunity to bring honor back to our house, _his father had commanded, when he sent Algus to squire for Marquis Elmdor at age thirteen. _Impress the Marquis, serve him faithfully, and he will introduce you to others in power. We were meant to be among those high lords, the Sadalfas family was once greater even than they! Do not disappoint me, son._

Algus had desperately wanted to do as his father asked. He had not, however, found it easy to be a young squire in the Marquis' employ. He was placed in cramped quarters, which he shared with other soldiers of similar rank, and he did not make friends with the other lads as he had hoped. During early conversations with his peers, he spoke often of his desire to raise the status of the Sadalfas name, as it was the subject most dear to him. But the other squires found this terribly dull, and quickly began to talk over him or ignore him in every conversation.

The final mark against him came when the squires banded together to visit a whorehouse, drunk and merry after having been given their wages for the month.

Algus' father had spoken against commoners as he grew up. A common man who had earned the king's favor and been raised to the status of Knight had been given the castle formerly belonging to the Sadalfas family. Algus' father had never run out of rage toward this man. _Commoners are barely one step above animals, Algus, _he once said, _Do not befriend them. Do not let them speak to you as equals. They are filth, and they exist only to serve the needs of their betters._

"But… they are common women in that place. Surely you will not lower yourselves so?" Algus had asked the other squires, confused.

The other boys had laughed heartily at this, calling Algus a coward and a man-maid, before they departed. When he next visited his home, a year later, Algus asked his father about the embarrassing subject. His father gave a long sigh, before telling him, "If you must use a common woman to slake your lust, then do so. You must build friendships with the other squires, and you cannot seem to be afraid to bed a woman, or they will never accept you… Only do not let the whores ask you for gifts or favors. Such women are shameless; they will take advantage of you if you are kind to them."

Algus asked if his father had ever lain with a common woman, and he was angrily ordered out of his chambers without a reply. Now having his father's approval, Algus did, in fact, join the other squires the next time they went to the brothel in town. Still, he knew it was too late to earn their friendship by "fitting in" with the crowd. The other boys his age all thought him dull and petulant.

Algus decided at that point to refocus his efforts toward impressing his higher-ups. After all, they were the ones most likely to grant his family favors. He trained longer and harder than any other squire, and always showed himself willing to run any small errand for any knight in Elmdor's service. He never wasted a moment of his day with lazy chatter, as the other boys did if their lord was not around.

If Marquis Elmdor or any of his knights were watching his sparring matches, Algus fought with a fury he had not known he possessed; he would not lose to anyone in front of these important men. Although the other squires still did not like him personally, they eventually granted him respect as a dangerous swordsman.

By the time he was seventeen years old, Algus had had his growth spurt, and that combined with his hard work made him easily the largest and strongest squire in the Marquis' household. The Marquis had even noted his skill, and requested specifically that Algus accompany him as his personal squire on his next excursion.

Algus had been so proud. It was the high point of his life, to be recognized in such a manner. Of course, they had to be ambushed by an overwhelming number of godforsaken _commoners_ on his _first fucking chance_ to prove his worth to Elmdor.

The marquis was knocked out and dragged away by several of the rogues while Algus and the two knights still left alive after the initial ambush desperately fought against at least ten more men with knives. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of his allies take a blade to his face and fall to the ground spurting blood.

Now it was two versus ten.

Abject fear pushed Algus to fight even harder than he ever had in training. He shoved his blade into the neck of the foe on his right, wasting no time in swinging it around to catch the man on his left deep in his thigh. He _would not_ die here, at the hands of filthy commoners.

The other knight, his last ally, took a knife to his gut and gave a high-pitched scream before being hacked at by three of the pouncing rogues.

_All alone now. _Algus lifted his blade to slash at the foe now closest to him, but he never had a chance to finish his swing. One of the men who had been lurking toward the back of the fight decided to contribute by throwing a large stone, which crashed into the side of Algus' skull and sprayed his face with his own blood. He fell forward, losing consciousness for some time. He was fortunate the rogues must have assumed the stone had killed him, as no blade was shoved into his back.

And then, Ramza Beoulve and his squad had arrived to save the day, as the common filth were raiding the Marquis' carriage and the gear on the corpses of the other knights and squires.

Algus could not believe he was not dead, _and _he had been rescued by a _Beoulve_! After Ramza's comrades had dosed him with potions to speed his healing, he had thanked Ramza profusely, and begged his aid in rescuing his lord, the Marquis. With the gracious manner of a highborn lord, Ramza had agreed to assist in any way his older brothers would allow.

Of course, the Beoulve boy had not turned out to be what Algus expected. Ramza did have a truly noble air about him, as if he were older than his years. He was not as crude and eager to make drunken merriment as the squires Algus had trained with. Indeed, he had a more solemn manner than his much older brother, Zalbag.

Ramza typically drank only one small cup of wine with his dinner, and he did not go out whoring. Indeed, Algus suspected Ramza might still be a virgin, although there was something about his intelligent, confident manner that prevented anyone from poking fun at him for it. He was the golden-boy of the Beoulve family, like some perfect hero from an ancient tale. Ramza was an exceedingly good fighter, perhaps even better than Algus himself. The squires in his team followed the young lord with honest loyalty and love, and Ramza commanded them with warm authority.

In short, Ramza was everything Algus himself wished to be, and his admiration for the Beoulve boy constantly mixed with seething jealousy.

Ramza had been born with a high position, with a father and mother who adored him and encouraged him, with doting older brothers to show him the way to greatness. Algus could not help but think that if _he_ had been given all of these things, he would do even better than Ramza had. Instead, his family had been stripped of rank, his mother had been more interested in the latest clothing fashions than she ever had been in him, and his father had seen him as a useful pawn, not a beloved child.

Perhaps the thing he most envied Ramza for was how _loved _he was. Algus could see the sparkling pride in Dycedarg's eyes when he spoke about his youngest brother's successes. Zalbag casually mentioned once that Ramza had always seemed to be their father's favorite child, and the spitting image of him. In the castle, young noble women constantly cast admiring glances at Ramza and sometimes contrived reasons to speak with him, although he seemed too naïve to recognize these amorous advances. His younger sister, Alma, seemed to think that Ramza was the greatest man who had ever walked the earth. When they arrived at Igros castle, he had seen Alma dash into Ramza's arms and kiss his cheeks affectionately until he had to laughingly push her away.

Algus had realized in that moment that no one had ever even come close to caring for him that much. When last he had visited his home, his mother had not even sought him out immediately. She was in the nursery with her beloved baby daughter: his sister, Layla. When she saw him at dinner that night, and he knelt for her blessing, she rested her cool palm on his head in the standard manner of mother greeting son. But there were no kisses on his cheeks, no exclamations that she had missed him.

_She only ever wanted a daughter, _Algus had thought bitterly to himself. _Now she has her precious girl, and she can forget me entirely. _

His mother had had many miscarriages in the fifteen years between his birth and Layla's birth. With each lost baby, she had seemed to value Algus less instead of more. Paid him less and less attention, asked less about his studies and his swordplay. By the time he was sent away to be a squire, he doubted she even cared that he was gone. And when she bore her long-desired daughter, to share her love of beautiful gowns, Algus himself had become nothing at all to her.

He had received word two years ago that his mother and his father had died from a sickness that had swept the town and countryside. He had shocked himself, and the squires he bunked with, by feeling almost no emotion over the loss of them. He had journeyed home briefly, to ensure that all was well with his estate, and that his baby sister was looked after by the servants and a wet nurse. But after his parents' funeral, he had wasted no time in returning to Marquis Elmdor's service.

The night that Ramza escorted him to Igros Castle, Algus was given a fine chamber to stay in and a very comfortable bed. Yet he could not sleep. He found himself curled into a ball deep under the blankets, his mind racing now that his body no longer needed to be in action.

_I killed two men yesterday. _He was sobbing as quietly as he could now, shaking.

He had never killed anyone before. He had trained at sword fighting probably thousands of times, but the shock of seeing a man die at the end of his blade had been worse than he had expected. And there had been no one to talk to about it. His comrades had died in the fight, and he did not think he could weep in front of his rescuers, who were men he had just met. What would they think of him?

So, he had held it in, until now. It seemed somehow exponentially worse that he couldn't even _tell _anyone: I killed a man for the first time, and I feel like I'm going mad now.

He used his hands to scrub at the tears on his cheeks, and even at that moment, he couldn't help thinking, _Ramza probably has scores of friends to comfort him at the least sign of turmoil._

He felt utterly alone in the world, utterly un-cared for, and he felt somehow dirty even though he had bathed upon reaching Igros castle. Yes, his life so far had been quite a bit different from pampered Ramza's.

Of course, Ramza did have one disgusting flaw: his close friendship with the common boy, Delita. This, Algus could not begin to understand. Why in Ajora's name would the Beoulves pay to outfit this common boy in fine armor, and let him train with his betters? Algus was loathe to admit that Delita was a decent soldier. Not as skilled as himself or Ramza, of course, but acceptably good.

Delita had attempted to make conversation with him a few times, but Algus always said very little in order to shut him up quickly. His dead father would be horrified to see this common boy talking to Algus as if he were his equal.

And the Beoulves had even decided to treat Delita's sister, a girl called Teta, as if she were truly a noblewoman. The day they arrived at Igros, he also saw Teta quietly but happily greet Delita. She wore a purple gown that surely had cost as much as any of the fine dresses his own mother had coveted, with what appeared to be silk beneath the overdress. Teta's hair was braided elaborately in a long pattern down her back, just like Alma's, meaning a servant had wasted time helping this common girl style her hair for the day.

He did not know what to make of Teta Hyral. To him, common girls were only weasel-faced serving wenches, dumb farmer's daughters with stooped backs, or the drawling, unwashed whores in the brothel he had visited a scant few times. This girl, Teta, spoke little, but when she did, she had a soft, well-educated accent. She carried herself with perfect posture, and her face was angelically beautiful, more so even than her friend Alma, who was _actually_ a noblewoman.

The only fault he could find in Teta's appearance was that she was a bit too skinny and flat-chested for his taste. Even so, she made him uncomfortable simply by existing. Anyone would believe her a noblewoman, if they were not told otherwise. It should not be allowed. And neither should her brother, Delita, be allowed the life of a highborn lad. Algus could not even be rude to Delita, for fear of angering Ramza, whose friendship he greatly desired.

That first night at Igros Castle, when he finally stopped weeping because his face was aching from it, he managed to tear his mind away from the killings he had committed by pondering the situation with the Beoulves and the Hyrals. Surely the Beoulves must see sense; they could not allow Delita and Teta to go on living like noble children in their household. Perhaps he would discuss it with Ramza when he had a chance.

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Nowadays, with the war over and the pace of his life relatively slow and easy, Algus hated when his mind wandered onto those times. He had failed to protect the Marquis, and he had had such cruel thoughts toward everyone around him, foe or friend.

He had even despised Teta. He hoped one day he would not feel such shame anymore. As their carriage neared the town, he admired Teta across the seat from him, and she smiled gaily back at him. How loved he felt at the smallest smile from her. He thought he would give her anything to only make her smile like that again and again. Her face was still as beautiful as it had been three years ago, when he had loathed her for not fitting his expectations of a common woman. Her chest had filled out though, he thought, with an inward grin. He now found her absolutely perfect. And not only her appearance, but everything about her, even the sometimes-critical tone of her voice and her awkward shyness in his bed. He felt lucky.

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Looking back, Algus was fairly certain he knew the moment his opinion of Teta had changed for the better. Months before the war ended, he had been allowed to visit home for a single day, as his lord's army had returned to Limberry.

He was pleased for the chance to see his sister and observe that all was well with his estate in his absence. His parents were dead, and he was thankful that his little sister had not taken the fever when they did. Now that he had no father left to impress, he found that he fought on for Layla. He would not leave her alone to be the last of the Sadalfas line.

Algus had felt alone nearly all his days. Perhaps if he could save Layla from that same fate, then he would have done one good thing in his miserable life. He certainly had not achieved his father's dreams. He was still a lowly squire. He no longer believed the Sadalfas line would be made grand again. The most he could hope for was that he would not die in battle.

He had killed a great many men over the last two years, and he no longer wept over them. But it still felt thankless. He had fought for glory for his family, but all he received was the monthly wage allotted to a soldier of his noble status.

His almost-five-year-old sister had greeted him with joy as he scooped her into his arms. She had grown so much since he saw her last! He wondered if she truly remembered him, or if Teta and the other servants had simply talked to her about her brother returning. Teta, as Layla's governess, had stood nearby looking pleased at her student's happiness.

Algus spent hours simply sitting in the nursery while Layla showed him all of her toys and invented silly games to play together. It was cozy in a way he had rarely known.

Cook sent a maid upstairs at midday to serve lunch to Layla and himself in the nursery. Teta did not eat with them, as a servant never shared meals with a lord. Soon after the meal, Layla laid down to play with her dolls, and drowsily fell asleep on the floor. Algus looked over at Teta, unsure how to conduct himself around a sleeping child.

Teta whispered, "I usually move her into her bed if this happens, my lord."

He watched her lift Layla from the floor, the child's sleep-heavy limbs trailing down, and gently place her into her bed and cover her with her blanket. She gave Layla a soft kiss on her forehead.

Then she turned to find Algus still seated on a stool, staring at her. Teta could not politely leave the room without her lord leaving first or dismissing her, but he had not so much as waved her away. Her stomach was growling. She normally went down to the kitchens for her own lunch after Layla began her nap.

"My lord?" she asked quietly.

Algus was not sure why he had not yet left the nursery. The atmosphere was so sweetly peaceful today; perhaps he was simply not ready to walk away from it. But now that Teta had addressed him, some of his usual nastiness began to bubble up. Typically, whenever he had reason to speak to his little sister's governess, he found a way to insult her.

Even in the plain brown dress of a servant, she looked more elegant than any common woman should. She never had so much as one blemish on her smooth face. Her figure now curved in a lush hourglass shape, and her hair always looked clean and shiny and soft. She was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever laid eyes on, and it annoyed him endlessly. When he was at his harshest, he sometimes even told her she was ugly, because he _wished_ he could truly see her as ugly. He did not want to feel admiration for a commoner. She had no right to be so lovely.

And now she stood before him, her posture as perfect as a queen's, waiting for him to speak or else dismiss her. He almost spit out yet another insult.

But instead, in the same whispering voice she had used due to the sleeping child, he shocked himself by saying, "Do you know, miss Hyral, I am still bothered that you saved my life at Fort Ziekden… it… things are not supposed to be that way. A soldier needing to be rescued by a common maid... Even though only you and I know the details, it is a constant humiliation to me. And I must suffer, knowing that I owe you a debt which cannot truly be repaid."

He saw the raw surprise on her face at this admission. Her lips parted as if to reply, then she lifted her hand out almost as if she were going to reach for him, before she remembered herself and let it drop back to her side. She inhaled deeply, still as upright as any well-bred noble woman. And then she sank to the floor, her skirts pooling around her, kneeling on her knees before him. She looked up at his face, and her eyes were enchanting, so liquid dark and earnest.

"My lord, you do not owe me anything more." She gestured slightly toward the child sleeping in the bed nearby, and continued to whisper, "You have given me Layla to take care of, and that is worth more to me than… well, than even my _own _life, I suppose. I love her. I had _no one _left before you brought me here."

He could not maintain eye contact while she spoke so intimately, and he looked down at his own boots. This was completely foreign to him, words of love and kindness.

After a long, silent moment, Teta tentatively continued, "I promise, your debt to me is paid many times over… The only thing I would ask of you now is to survive the war. I pray for you every day, and I ensure that Layla does as well. She needs you alive... I will _keep _praying for you until this war is done, and we know you are safe."

He thought his heart was dissolving in his chest. What he felt at her words was something like the deepest _yearning _for the sort of care she spoke of, which up until now had never once been directed his way. He did not know how to accept it graciously, and he did not want to burst the bubble of affection he felt she had just enclosed him in. He sat motionless for a long moment, before he gave her a jerky nod and stood and left the nursery.

From that moment on, whether he liked it or not, things were different for him. He knew that the next time he prepared to go into battle, there would be another face he pictured fighting for besides Layla's. Each night when he lay down to sleep, in his mind's eye he would see Teta's soft, dark gaze staring back at him, and sink into the comfort of her gentle words. And when he returned home for good, he knew he would seek her affection. The ghostly disapproval of his dead father was no longer enough to hold him back.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

In the town, as Layla was being measured by a seamstress, Algus turned to Teta and said, "You must be fitted for two new gowns as well. Fine things, like you used to have when you lived at Igros Castle."

"Al-" she caught herself before speaking his name in public- "My lord, I cannot dress as fine as that, it makes no sense for a governess. But my gowns _are_ quite worn, and I would be pleased to have something new." She thought for a moment. "If you wish me to have two new gowns, I could perhaps ask the seamstress for something a bit nicer than what I have now, in prettier colors, at least."

"All right, then," he agreed.

"Thank you, my lord!" she squealed with delight, and he grinned and held her hand for a moment when no one was looking at them.

While the seamstress measured Teta, she discussed styles and colors with her. They eventually determined that she would create a lovely dark green gown that was to be cut modestly, suitable even for a governess, although the materials were expensive. She would also make a light blue gown, with a more fashionably low-cut collar, which would be suitable for church and any nicer occasions.

It was late in the evening when they returned home in the carriage, and Teta was sleepily changing into her nightclothes. She glanced about her tiny attic maid's room, with its sparse furnishings. Algus had said that tomorrow she would move out of this room for good. She was excited, but also feeling a little bit nostalgic. This room had, after all, been her safe haven after the horrors of Fort Ziekden, when Algus first brought her to live at the manor. Teta found her mind wandering back to those days yet again, picking up the trail of her thoughts where she had last abandoned them:

She had just clambered up from her spot on the snowy ground, mere feet away from the remains of Golagros' mangled body. She had not yet removed the large slice of wood from her shoulder, and she was still thinking of what to do. She appeared to be the only living person left here. Where was her brother, where were Zalbag and his men? She needed to find a potion to stop her bleeding before she pulled the stake loose from her shoulder. The carnage from the explosion was already partly snowed-over. Everything was eerily silent, even the wind was still now.

The snow fell straight downward from the sky. Golagros was barely recognizable under the thin layer of snow on his face. She walked over to the area where the largest group of Death Corps. men had been clustered at the base of the fortress. It was not so much a cluster of men anymore, as it was a littering of bodies and body parts. She might have vomited at the sight, but the thickly falling snow had softened it all. The bodies would likely be fully buried by nightfall. Which meant she needed to find a potion fast, before the snow made it impossible to find anything at all. She searched among the bodies and the wreckage of the fortress wall for any kind of sack of supplies that might not have exploded, but found nothing. Likely these last remaining men of the Death Corps had had no money for potions, anyway.

She remembered that Algus and the two mages had been standing very close to the fortress when it exploded. They had been a part of the Order of the Northern Sky, they surely had money for supplies. As she expected, she spotted some snow-covered shapes lying approximately forty feet away that looked human. She stumbled over, barely able to feel her toes or her fingers anymore. There was the mage that had moved in front of Algus to cast the fire spell that blew up the fortress. He was crumpled on his side, with his entire front half of his body destroyed as badly as Golagros' backside. He looked like a charcoal imitation of a person. A quick pat-down revealed no supply bag on his person.

She moved on. Another twenty feet behind, it seemed as if the blast had thrown the other mage and the boy Algus backward, as it had thrown her. They were not burned up like the first mage, but still, they appeared dead. A large puddle of blood had poured out of the second mage's mouth, and his eyes were frighteningly frozen open. She tried to not look at his face as she searched his corpse. Aha! She found tied onto his belt a small wooden box that appeared undamaged. Inside she found ten little vials full of liquid. She recognized them as Phoenix Downs, Potions, and Hi-Potions.

Teta took out a Hi-Potion with shaking fingers. Even this bitter cold was not enough to hide the pain of the splinter lodged in her shoulder. She had to pull the piece of wood out now, but she was afraid. Clenching her eyes closed, she tugged on it. It slid out with the most nauseating feeling she had ever had, and she choked, vomited, as the wound now spilled her blood. She fought to get a grip on her nausea and dizziness so she could down her potion.

Oh. Ohhhh. The Hi-Potion entering her bloodstream felt like every good thing she had ever experienced. Her shivering stopped and her nausea disappeared. The wound in her shoulder closed almost immediately, leaving a raised red scar. It was such an improvement that she nearly wept with gratitude, and she could not stop herself from uncapping a second Hi-Potion and downing that as well. Now even her fingers and toes felt warm again, as if she had only just stepped outdoors after sitting by the fireside for hours. This was the best she had felt since the day she was kidnapped. The potion had also cleared her mind of worry and helped her to focus.

Carefully, Teta stripped the heavy cloak off of the mage's shoulders, pleased to find that the interior was still mostly dry, as it had been wrapped around the mage's body. Now she wrapped it around herself. She closed the potion box and began to untie the cord from the mage's waist so that she might tie it around herself and bring the box along with her.

Suddenly a small noise made her startle. It had sounded like a groan or a grunt coming from Algus' corpse, which she had not yet had a chance to examine. Not that she wanted to examine him. The bastard had shot a crossbow bolt mere inches away from her body. _And Zalbag ordered him to shoot me, _she remembered, sickeningly. But now was not the time to dwell on that betrayal.

Teta hurried over to the boy's body, which lay on its side with its eyes closed. She saw that where his face was exposed, the snow had not gathered, but had instead melted. Could it be that he was still alive? She knelt and placed her hand over his nose and mouth. Yes, it was faint, but he was still breathing warm breath.

"Algus?" she cried, feeling elated to find another living person in this place, even if it was _him_. "Algus, can you hear me?"

No reply. Now she looked him over from head to toe to try to determine what had happened to him. The back of his head was bleeding, but only a little, it looked like just a scratch.

Oh. It seemed he had turned on his side to die because a wooden piece from the wall, maybe five or six times the width of the one that had lodged in her own shoulder, was impaled in his stomach, along with a smaller shard slightly to the left of the larger one.

"Oh, Ajora," Teta muttered. She knew she had to help him quickly. Death could not be far away from him, and the Phoenix Down would only work if he still clung to some scrap of life. She panicked for a moment, trying to recall the small bit of chemist training she had undergone at her school in Igros. Should she give him the Phoenix Down before or after she pulled the pieces of wood out of his gut? She decided the answer was after. No one wanted to be conscious for something like that.

She also debated whether she should first roll him onto his back, but decided not. With the Phoenix Down at hand, she carefully pulled the smaller projectile out of his body. He twitched, but did not regain consciousness. Wasting no time, she began to pull out the larger piece. A great amount of blood gushed out of him with the removal, and she feared she had just killed him after all. She twisted his face upward and forced the vial of Phoenix Down into his throat, holding his nose closed to force him to swallow.

Algus gasped, and Teta could see the wound in his midsection already beginning to try to knit closed. His eyes opened, but they were wild and panicked. "Hurts…" he croaked out.

"I know, I know," she soothed, "drink this." She offered him the last Hi-Potion that was in the box, held it to his lips so he could swallow it. Now she felt guilty that she had drank two of them herself. He was in far worse shape than she had been. A small cut on his face healed up before her eyes. The wound in his midsection was getting smaller as she watched, but still looked raw at the edges. She uncapped a regular Potion. "Now this," she told him, and he obediently drank it. "And another now," she instructed, uncapping another Potion.

The wound in his belly had sealed up now, she could see. In the wooden box, she had only two Phoenix Downs and two Potions remaining.

She looked at his pained face, and said, "How do you feel now? We have only two Potions left, as far as I know. Do you want them now, or shall we save them against future need?"

He groaned. "One more."

She uncapped and handed the Potion to him, and he was able to pour it down his own throat this time. The grimace on his face softened a bit, and he made his way up into a sitting position, looking around him. "By the gods, what has happened here?" he said.

Teta pulled the hood of the mage's cloak up over her head to block the falling snow. "Well… you probably saw that your comrade blew up the fortress. I fell from the bridge, and I was knocked out for a time, and took an injury to my arm. I woke up and started looking for potions. Then I found you were still alive, and—" she gestured to the blood-soaked hunk of wood beside them, "that was stuck into you. So, I pulled it out and gave you a Phoenix Down and the Potions… I have not seen any other living soul here. Where do you suppose they all went, Delita and the Beoulves?"

He stared blankly at her, clearly still finding his bearings after such a grave injury. Rather than answer her question, he stated, "I need to find out if any of the Death Corps rabble still live. I take it you have not explored the fortress?"

"No. I only woke a few minutes before now."

He stood and drew the long sword from his hip sheath. "I shall go look. We are not safe yet, if any of them still draw breath."

Teta hurried after him. "Algus, are you sure you should go look right now? You just recovered from—"

He whirled around angrily, "Do not dare speak my name to me, wench! I care not how the Beoulves have treated you; I'll not let you pretend to be better than you are! Your blood is as common as those bastards we came here to fight! You will address me properly as 'my lord'. Now stay out of my way!"

He stalked off toward the fortress. Teta stayed where she was; not from any desire to obey him, but simply from the shock of his words. Her jaw had literally dropped. The girls at her school were exceedingly cruel to her about her common birth, but Alma had always told her not to worry about it, and said that those girls were probably just jealous of her pretty face. This was the first time any man had bothered to insult her so. She did not know what to say in the face of such rage.

When Algus had finished his perusal of the fortress' remains, he returned and said, "Only corpses. This group of milksop rabble likely had no coin, but we still need to loot the bodies. We must find whatever food rations and gil there are to be had here, or we won't survive the trip back to civilization. You start looking over there, and I'll begin at the other side."

Teta found her courage to speak again. "But—_my lord_, wh-where do you suppose the others have gone? Why would they just leave us here?"

Algus sniffed. His nose was running from the cold. "I assume the Beoulves ran away without checking for survivors out of fear of a second explosion. It is what I would have done, had I not been injured. Not much reason to stay anyway, the blast destroyed their foe for them." He gave her an odd look now. "As for your brother," he scuffed his foot in the snow awkwardly for a moment, "I saw him dash toward the fortress, as if he thought he would save you. I… am sorry to bear such news to you, but I expect he is among those bodies over there." He gestured limply.

"No," she retorted, "No. No! That cannot be true!" She frantically ran toward the area he had indicated. She raced from corpse to corpse, brushing snow off one face, then dashing to the next. Some had been so close to the blast that they were not recognizable at all, just charred pieces of bodies. She felt as if she had actually died, and this was her punishment in hell: to search endlessly for her brother and yet pray she did not find him.

Teta searched and searched, but did not see a face that looked like Delita's. Still, what did that truly mean? He could be any of the bodies that had been so burned to a crisp that they had no defining features. Next to one of these, she finally fell down, weeping. Was this charcoal husk her brother? Or that other burned corpse over there? She sobbed for a long time, no longer noticing how cold her fingers and toes were becoming.

Eventually, Algus spoke from above her. "I have started a fire. Come sit beside it, or you shall soon die here as well."

She did not care. If Delita was dead, then let her join him. She did not care at all.

Algus grabbed her by her upper arm and yanked her to her feet. She stumbled along beside him as he pulled her roughly over to the tree line, where he had found a somewhat sheltered area far enough away from the fortress to risk starting a campfire. When they arrived, he shoved her back down beside it.

"I am going to finish looting the bodies. Stay here," he ordered.

The daylight was almost gone by the time he returned to the campfire. Teta had not stopped weeping, but her shoulders no longer shook. She stared into the flames with an empty expression.

Algus told her, "I did not find much food in the packs, so we will need to travel quickly once the sun rises. Best if we go without any dinner tonight, and eat only when we must tomorrow. Richard at least had a small amount of gil in his purse, enough to pay for some transportation when we reach a town."

Through the fog of her grief, Teta had barely been listening to him, but at that last statement she took notice.

"Transportation to where?" she asked in a squeaking voice, still with a bit of a sob.

He shrugged. "I suppose I shall travel back to Limberry and report to the Marquis for a new assignment. I am certainly not returning to Igros Castle. Lord Zalbag did not even bother to check if I was still alive before he departed. _My_ lord, the Marquis, takes far better care of his men."

"…Wh—where will I go?" she hastily added, "My lord?"

He looked irritated at the question. "Is that any of my concern? I am sure there will be a cart headed to Igros that will give you a ride."

Teta felt a flood of rage that suddenly equaled her grief over Delita. "And what will I do in Igros?!" she shouted. "Go back to live with Zalbag? With the man who ORDERED YOU TO KILL ME?!"

He flinched.

Teta calmed herself just enough to say, "You must help me, my lord."

He snorted at this. "Why should _I_ help _you_, commoner?"

"You MUST. HELP ME!" she shrieked. She leaped to her feet, mad with rage and grief. She must have looked threatening, because Algus too jumped to his feet, as if he thought he would have to defend himself from an attack from her.

"You OWE me!" Teta shouted, tears still leaking down her cheeks as she took a menacing step toward him. "I pulled a _disgusting_ bloody wooden stake out of your gut when you were a moment away from death! You would be dead in the snow right now if it were not for me! You owe me your very _life,_ and you _must_ help me, or be cursed by the gods forever!"

Algus looked stunned and actually panicked, as if he had never dealt with a situation quite like this one, and was woefully unprepared. His hands balled into fists and then released several times over, and he was swaying a bit on his feet. Teta glared at him without blinking, with her own fists clenched.

"All right… All right," he said, finally making his body be still. "What would you have of me?"

Teta did not know how she was able to think so clearly at this moment, but she succinctly told him, "I need a place to live. I will need some basic things, some clothing. My dress is ruined, and I have nothing else now. You _are _a nobleman, surely there is some position you could give me on your estate? I am willing to work."

He was silent for a long moment. "The Beoulves educated you in the same manner as Lady Alma, correct?" he finally asked.

"Yes. My lord."

He sighed. "I do, in fact, have a use for you, then. I have an infant sister. She lacks a governess, and perhaps your expensive education would make you suitable for that role."

"I… yes. I would be pleased to be her governess," Teta said. "But, my lord, will your mother not wish to interview me for the position before I am allowed?"

He said, with no hint of emotion whatsoever, "My mother and father are dead. Layla is currently cared for by the woman who was her wet nurse. But that situation cannot last; she needs a caretaker who will teach her to be a lady. I must say, I am not impressed with you as a replacement, with your animal screeching at me. But you say I owe you a debt, and so here is my offer for repayment."

"Yes. Th—thank you, my lord. I am sorry for raising my voice at you, it will not happen again." She replied.

"It had best not. No servant in my house will _ever_ raise her voice at me and come away unscathed. I know the Beoulves let you behave as if you were one of them, but I shall do no such thing. Remember that, _miss Hyral_."

"Yes, my lord." She sat back down beside the fire.

"We will sleep in turns tonight, one asleep while the other tends the fire and keeps watch for any threats. Then at first light, we begin the walk to town. Understand?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I will take the first shift on watch." He looked awkward as he said, "Perhaps sleep will aid you with your grief."

She felt empty, finally numb from the shock of this horrifying day. "Thank you, my lord," she said hollowly, as she pulled her heavy stolen cloak tightly around her and laid down as close to the fire as she dared.

Teta clearly remembered the agony of that day at Ziekden, and then the difficult journey across the country to Algus' home in Limberry. At least it had been warmer once they traveled south, but they still had to sleep outdoors most nights, as they had no coin to buy rooms in addition to buying food, and rides on carts. Algus had no way to access his family's wealth while that far from home, and he was ashamed to be traveling like a commoner. Teta had not cared that he was miserable company. She hardly spoke a word, unless he asked her a direct question. Whether marching along, or riding in the back of some merchant's cart, all she thought of was Delita. He had died trying to save her. She cried quietly every night and day, to the point that the skin on her face was chapped from the tears. Algus pretended he did not see her weeping, and she was glad he ignored her.

Finally, Algus told her they were only about two days' travel from his home. He gave her a critical look. "You must learn to hold back your tears," he said, "You look monstrous. Your face is red and swollen. My sister will be afraid of you if you arrive looking like that."

Teta had been angry at his rude words, but she understood his point. If she was to become the new caretaker to a small child, she wanted to start the relationship well. From that moment on, she wept only on the inside when she thought of her dead brother, and her eyes remained dry.

Lady Layla Sadalfas had been an absolutely lovely girl. She was only three years old, and she adored Teta from their first day together. When Teta had spent her first night in her little attic room in the Sadalfas manor, she had for the first time since her kidnapping felt a small bit of happiness. It seemed like a betrayal to Delita's memory, for her to even smile again. She knew that the loss of him would never stop hurting her. But offering care and comfort and play to Layla had soothed her own heart a little bit, as well.

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Having said a bit of a farewell to the bedroom that had housed her for almost three years now, Teta quietly made her way down to Algus' chambers. Truth be told, she was exhausted. The previous night had been exciting and enjoyable, excluding the pain from the loss of her maidenhead, but they had slept almost not at all. And then the travel into town and back to visit the seamstress today had stolen the last of her energy reserves. Even Layla had been unusually cranky from the long trip and the change to her daily routine.

Teta yawned several times during her walk through the dark hallways. Algus greeted her at the entrance to his sitting room when she knocked softly, and he pulled her into his arms once the door was closed. She squeezed him back, burying her face in his neck. She was so tired. "Shall we go straight to bed, Algus?" she asked, "I am quite sleepy."

"Yes. I am tired myself," he said.

Without lighting a candle, they carefully maneuvered through the dark chambers into his bedroom. She clambered into the tall bed and under the heavy covers. In the manner they had chastely slept together many times now (before last night of course, which had been decidedly un-chaste) she turned on her side with her back facing him, and he curled his body around her back, with one arm under her head and the other around her waist. They said their goodnights to each other, and Teta was almost fully asleep when Algus muttered, "By the gods, I may be tired, but I know I shall never sleep until I take you again."

She felt him place warm kisses on the side of her neck, before he rolled her onto her back. He slid the skirt of her nightgown up to her waist and mounted her as she sleepily opened her legs to him. He pressed himself against her opening, but she was not wet enough for an easy entrance this time. Algus reared back up onto his knees, then licked his fingers and rubbed the spit over the broad head of his cock. This time he was able to smoothly slide inside her, and Teta gave a soft moan. She was so sleepy, though, she did not think she could stay awake to enjoy another night of sex like last night. After a while, Algus suddenly pulled out of her. "What is it?" she asked.

"I do not wish to finish until I have pleased you. I was close," he gasped. He took a deep breath before pushing inside her again. She did not say anything, but Teta doubted she could orgasm now, she was just too tired. It took her by surprise when a few minutes later, as she had allowed her mind to relax and begin to drift toward rest again despite his continued thrusting, she felt that same aching excitement building deep inside her body, followed by bursting pleasure that made her gasp his name several times. "Yes, love," he said with satisfaction, "Yes, Teta," he crooned as he held himself unmoving inside her to better feel her throbbing around him. She bucked her hips beneath him, doing the thrusting herself for a few moments, and this pushed him into his own orgasm. It felt so good to come inside her. He groaned in bliss, eyes squeezed shut, as his seed shot out of him in quick bursts.

They lay panting side by side in the bedsheets. "You must think me a fiend now," he said, "Falling upon you again, when you told me you needed sleep."

She chuckled softly. "I will forgive you, so long as you let me sleep the rest of the night undisturbed."

"I shall endeavor to curb my appetite for now," he laughed. "But be certain I will have you again tomorrow night, and every night after that."

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**A/N: **Things will be getting dramatic in the next chapter! Please leave me a review to let me know what you think of the story so far! Hope you're enjoying :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The following day was spent moving Layla's belongings into the chambers intended for the Lady of the manor, while Teta's meager amount of possessions were transferred into the room next door, which had been the nursery. Algus helped with the process, and he found he enjoyed having an excuse to spend time with Teta during the day. He summoned Tom, who was his jack-of-all-trades manservant, to assist him in moving Layla's chest of drawers.

"M'lord, Teta shall stay in the nursery now?" Tom asked Algus.

"Yes, Tom."

"Huh," Tom huffed. "Anything else to be moved, m'lord?"

"I believe not; you may go."

Tom shuffled out without further comment. He had been the manservant to Algus' father as well, until the demise of the previous Sadalfas lord. Algus' father had enjoyed Tom's propensity for silence and obedience. Algus had kept Tom as his own servant afterward, although he truthfully found the man a bit odd. Tom was also married to the Cook, so it would have been especially awkward to dismiss him.

At least Tom was able to read, which was a valuable commodity. Algus had relied heavily on him to keep the estate functioning while he was away at war, and he could trust the man to pay out the servants' wages without stealing from his treasury. He kept the records of money in-and-out himself, now that he was permanently home, but he had kept a careful eye on Tom's record-keeping over the previous years and been satisfied that the job had been honestly done.

Algus took a seat on the chair beside the bed that was now to be Layla's, and watched Teta help to put away Layla's clothing and dolls. They had only truly needed him to help move the heavy furniture, he knew nothing about organizing a girl's room. It was getting to be late in the afternoon, and his stomach was growling. He typically got hungry during the long stretch between lunch and dinner, and for most of his life he had crept down to the kitchen in the afternoon for whatever scraps Cook would offer him. She never let anyone else have so much as a crumb between meals, but in his case, she made an exception, saying that a growing boy needed more food. Teta and Layla looked busy, so he left without a word to them.

Algus heard Cook shouting as he approached the kitchen, but he could not make out the exact words. He walked in to find her in conversation with Tom, who looked guilty when he spotted Algus standing there. Tom dipped his hat and hastily walked out the back door.

"Is all well?" He slowly asked Cook, seeing the thunderous look she had now directed at him.

She wrung her hands, then smacked them onto her countertop. "No, m'lord. No," she said, red-faced. "I just heard—it just isn't right!" She paused to find the right words around her obvious anger. "We know what's going on, Tom and I. Tom's heard Teta creeping away from your bed on many a morning. And now I'm told she's moving into Lady Layla's room, like some live-in mistress!"

Algus was stunned silent; he had really believed no one else knew that he had bedded Teta.

Cook went on, "She's a good girl! I'm fond of her! I cannot bear it that you have made her your whore," She stared him down, and he shuffled uncomfortably. She had not looked at him like that since he was eight years old and had ripped a hunk off a freshly baked loaf of bread without permission. She said, "I know you to be a good man, m'lord. And a good man would not continue this. He would stop bedding her and send her back upstairs to the servant's room. Or else do the proper thing and marry her!"

Feeling at a loss, Algus spoke the first words that came to mind. "My father would never have approved a marriage to her," he said, staring at his boots. "He wanted me to marry someone above my station, to bring up the family name."

Cook softened a bit, seeing him look like a shame-faced boy. "M'lord, your father married a woman above his own station. Please pardon my saying so, but I didn't see any changes around here. He had no happiness from that marriage. The only good things that came from it were _you_, and your sister… And he always expected you to succeed in the ways _he_ never did! I saw it, even when you were a little boy, and it wasn't fair to you… But it's also not fair to Teta to use her so. M'lord, I beg you. If you won't marry her, then at least stop taking her to bed before she gets with child! It's a hard life for a woman with a bastard, and I would not wish that for her."

Algus swallowed. His appetite, which had brought him down here, was thoroughly gone. He felt heavy with the guilt Cook had laid on him. He nodded solemnly to her. "I thank you for your words." He exited from the same door Tom had taken, walking slowly and aimlessly.

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Teta surveyed her new room blissfully. She had just finished Layla's bedtime routine, and after kissing the child goodnight and bidding her sweet dreams, Teta now had a moment to sit on her bed and admire her new quarters. She had roughly five times as much space as she had had before. The fireplace was empty, in mid-July, but she knew it would be cozy in the winter. Her work for the day was done, and she was settled into her room with a cup of warmed milk and a book she had borrowed from the Sadalfas' library. It had been Layla's birthday only two days ago, but Teta felt as if it were also her own time to celebrate. She had a lovely new bedroom, and two pretty new gowns were in the process of being made for her. And she also had a… lover? She did not know what to call him. But life felt good in that moment, and she was choosing not to question it too closely.

For the past nearly three years, Teta's life had revolved around keeping Layla happy, and she loved the little girl and enjoyed looking after her. But there had not been many pleasures for herself in all that time. She wore the same dull brown and gray gowns every day, and she never spent her wages. She was only paid a handful of gil per week, but she had always felt she had best save the money in case of disaster. She was well aware that her position in the Sadalfas manor might not be permanent. If Algus ever did marry a noblewoman (oh gods, her stomach twisted with dread at the thought), then that woman might choose to dismiss her from Layla's service. She would likely already have maids of her own whom she would prefer over Teta, to govern her little stepsister. The only thing that kept Teta safe and secure was Algus allowing her to serve here. She had begun to believe that Algus was much kinder now than when she had first met him, but still, she saved every single gil against future need. If she found herself dismissed from her job, she could at least afford to buy shelter in the town for a few weeks while she sought another employment.

Despite her frugal ways, Teta missed the fun things that money could buy: hair ribbons and decorative pins, brooches, beautiful shoes, cakes and cookies from the bakery. Those were things she had often been treated to when she was a ward of the Beoulves. Since coming to the Sadalfas manor, she had owned nothing pretty. Until yesterday, of course, when Algus had let her choose two new gowns. She was bursting with excitement to wear them; the seamstress had asked for two more weeks to complete the work.

Teta was surprised by a sharp knock on her bedroom door. Before she could reply, it creaked open, and Algus quickly slid inside, closing the door behind him. She had not seen him since he had sneaked out of Layla's chambers in the mid-afternoon. His expression looked serious, as if something had been weighing on his mind. But as he took in the tranquil scene of her sitting on her bed, quilt over her legs, with her book and her cup of milk, a small smile quirked at the corners of his mouth.

"My lord—Algus," she corrected herself. She still found it difficult to remember when to call him by name and when by title. "We missed you this afternoon."

He shrugged. "I could not be of much assistance arranging a girl's dresses. Decided to leave the task to the two of you." He still stood by the door, as if unsure whether he was welcome in the room.

"Please, come in." Teta said. She set down her cup and rose from the bed. "I did not expect to see you this early in the evening. I thought you would want me to come to your chambers, as usual. Would you like me to go fetch you a cup of wine? Or warm milk, as I am having?"

"Ah, no. No, thank you," he said.

She was not sure what to make of his awkwardness in that moment. Why had he come to her room, and so much earlier than they typically met? "Well," she said, uncertainly, "I was planning to read a bit of this book before bed. Will you take off your boots and come sit with me? I will read out loud to you, if you think you would enjoy that."

"All right," he agreed. He stooped to unlace his boots, which were uncharacteristically muddy today. Algus was usually fanatical about keeping his clothing and gear spotless; he often scrubbed his boots clean himself if his manservant, Tom, was not immediately available to do the job. Teta enjoyed watching him. In general, Algus was built large, and she found that very attractive. He was only a bit taller than the average man, really, but he had unusually broad shoulders. His arms and chest were thickly muscled. He also had a hearty appetite, which had given some softness to his cheeks, but had also served to make his body look even broader and more imposing than the muscles alone would have. Teta loved the secure feeling of being wrapped in his embrace at night. She was pleased when he climbed into the bed beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders.

She turned to the side a bit, so she could smile up into his face. He had not said much, and he still looked preoccupied. But he seemed to come back to reality at the sight of her sweet expression, and he gave her a gentle kiss on her mouth.

"So, what are you reading to me tonight?" he said.

The book she had selected today was an adventure tale which was set hundreds of years ago. She had already read it before (several times, in fact, as the Sadalfas library was small), but it was a favorite of hers. In the story, creatures called 'machines' were prevalent in the world. Humans hardly lifted a finger in the course of their lives, as the machines did everything for them. There were machines to wash their clothing, machines to heat their homes. The hero of the story used a machine to drive great distances, many miles, in only minutes, to get wherever he needed to go. Teta read to Algus until her voice felt a bit tired, and she told him she needed to take a break.

"Well, this has been interesting so far," Algus commented. "What fantasy, though. I suppose if machines like that truly existed, we men would not even need to fight our wars. We would simply send our machines to do it."

Teta smiled. "I suppose so. It appears they do not have magic or potions in the machine world, though. Every time I read this book, I wonder why no one uses spells to accomplish anything… If you had to choose, what would it be? Our world, with magic, or their world, with machines?"

Algus thought for a moment. "Our world. Their world sounds too… I do not know the correct word. Too easy, perhaps. As if everyone is lazy."

Teta smiled. "I think I would choose their world. I should like to ride in one of their 'cars.' But only if you and Layla could be there with me, of course."

Algus did not reply, his gaze was distant and troubled once more.

Teta reached up and stroked the side of his face. "Algus, you are so quiet. Are you well?" She remembered his muddy boots. "Where did you go this afternoon?"

He blinked. "I went hunting. No luck today."

"Hunting that late? You usually go at sunrise?"

He nodded vaguely, but did not reply.

Teta looked back down at her book, at a loss for what to say. Now she was picturing him holding a bow, and not for hunting animals, this time. Her mind was back _there, _at Ziekden, seeing his crossbow pointed in her direction. She felt a chill inside.

"Algus," she said, "there is something I have often wished to ask you about."

He looked alarmed. "What is it?" he demanded.

She felt her hands begin to shake. "I have— just always wanted to know." She took a breath and let the words tumble out, "At Ziekden Fortress. When you took your shot. Were you confident it would hit Golagros? Or did you not care if I was hit by it?"

The hand he had rested on her forearm suddenly clenched so tightly that she cringed. She dared not look at his face. She knew that the answer to this question could change everything between them. But she also knew she could not go on forever without asking it.

In a tight voice he asked, "I suppose Golagros was the name of the rogue holding you up there?"

"Yes."

"I… damn it. Gods, I do not want to think about this!" he exclaimed.

Teta said nothing, waiting him out.

"I hoped it would not hit you!" Algus finally said, almost shouting. "Of course I _hoped _it would not! I did not _want _to kill an innocent girl! There was a bit of his shoulder sticking out from behind you, and I tried to aim for that."

Teta heard the unspoken words that went along with this statement: _I knew it might hit you, but I took the shot anyway. _

"What else could I have done?!" Algus demanded. "My commander, Zalbag, had just ordered me to shoot. I could not defy him!"

"Were you at least upset? That you might kill me? You looked… so cold, when you aimed at me. I could see your face then, even through the snow."

Some emotion, something almost like panic, made him jump up out of the bed. "Stop this! I cannot bear this discussion right now!" Teta made a sound of protest, but he dashed from her room without another word.

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In his own chambers, Algus picked up a wooden carving from his desk and threw it against his wall. He clutched at his hair as if he would rip it out, and he paced back and forth frantically. He was overwhelmed to the point of lashing out. First, Cook had attacked his character. And then, Teta had asked _that_ question. He had not meant to dash from her room so dramatically, as he generally found such rash actions childish, but he could not bear to answer her and he had needed to escape.

She had wanted to know his feelings when he shot his crossbow at her. Gods. He could remember it only too clearly. From the moment he first saw Teta being held hostage on the walkway, he had _known_ she would die there. Zalbag would not let the life of a common lass get in the way of his final victory over the Death Corps. Algus even agreed with his reasoning. You did not stop a battle for the sake of one silly girl caught in the middle. But Algus had not been as cool as he appeared on the surface. He remembered the striking beauty of Teta's face when he had seen her in Igros Castle. Her bearing had been like that of a princess. Or even an angel, with those soulful eyes of hers. This would be easier for him if she had been brash and dumb and ugly, as a commoner ought to be. As he approached the walkway, where she struggled above him, he had tried hard not to think about it. His weapon destroying that pretty girl, her blood pouring forth and her eyes going lifeless after he killed her. _She's only a commoner, _he had reminded himself, repeatedly. _Just a worthless commoner. You're only doing your duty. It's not your fault she's here. _Yet he still felt sick to his stomach.

And then Zalbag had shouted the order he had known would come: to loose his bolt. The Death Corps. bastard was fairly well-concealed behind Teta's body at the moment. The smartest move would be to shoot at Teta. When she became dead-weight in the man's arms, Algus would then have a very clear shot at the man. He almost did it. At the last second, he let his aim drift ever so slightly to the right, where a tiny sliver of the man's left shoulder was exposed. _At least I can tell myself I did not aim to kill an innocent maid._ In truth, the bolt might still hit Teta, especially with the wind howling like this. He settled for that shot, took it, and it ended up missing both Teta and the man holding her by a couple inches. He felt the strangest mixture of both relief and embarrassment, to have missed. He had not been the one to kill the girl. But she would still die somehow in the midst of all this, and now he would not receive any sort of recognition or honors from Lord Zalbag once the fight was through.

Of course, the fort had exploded a moment later, and Zalbag had simply left him to bleed out in the snow. He had woken to find the commoner girl tending to him, and for the first few moments he had thought perhaps they were both dead, in a strange afterlife full of only cold and pain.

She had saved his life.

Even then, Algus had known deep down that he had not deserved her kindness. He had nearly killed her only minutes earlier. He was a cruel, broken thing. He had no friends; he had not even been loved by his own mother, when she was alive. In some ways, he thought it might have been better if Teta had simply let him die. When she demanded his help, in return for having saved his life, he _almost _retorted that she should not have bothered. After all, he had just failed in yet another opportunity to glorify the Sadalfas name. What good was he?

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	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Later that night, Teta softly knocked on Algus' chamber door. She wore her nightclothes, and clutched in her hands the pair of boots he had left behind in her room. She hoped he had cooled down since storming away from her room earlier. She had thought about their conversation for a short while, and ultimately, she had decided to let it go. Perhaps his answer wasn't exactly the one she had been hoping for, but it was good enough. He had not wanted to shoot her. That was an old worry she could lay to rest now, forever.

"I brought these back for you," she whispered when he opened the door, gesturing to the boots. "I would still like to stay the night in your bed, if that is all right."

Algus set the boots on the floor and then grabbed her, pulling her into a tight embrace and pressing a fierce kiss onto her lips. He was surprised, as always, by her lack of grudge-holding toward him. He had always been told that women liked to hold grudges against men, but Teta did not seem to fit that mold. And perhaps the most enigmatic thing about her was the way that she sort of made _him _wantto be kinder to others. Teta seemed to have a bottomless pool of goodness in her, albeit mixed with some angry passion at times. She was as sweet as any real mother could be to his little sister, Layla. Algus often found himself wishing to impress Teta, to actually earn her inexplicable kindness toward him.

And he was truly in love with her. A commoner. A girl who had seen right down to the ugly bottom of his cruel heart, and had still thought him worth caring for. She made him feel like maybe he could be better, could be deserving of having her love. The turmoil that had roiled in his stomach since his conversation with Cook was suddenly gone, as if it had never been there. He felt light as a feather.

"Teta, marry me," he said, when he broke off their kiss.

"What?" she whispered, stunned.

"I want you to marry me. I've been thinking— of a great many things today— and I fear I have not done well enough by you. I love you, you know."

"Algus," she said, "how can you want me for your wife? You know my status. I have nothing to give you, though I do love you well."

"I find, I do not care about your status any longer. I am certain of it. Say yes, Teta. Please."

Her heart was beating so rapidly she felt faint with happiness. "Of course, I will marry you! Yes! Of course," she replied. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips onto his again. He hoisted her up by her thighs and carried her toward his bedchamber with her legs and arms locked around him, still kissing her repeatedly as they went. He set her down on the edge of the bed a bit clumsily, and they both laughed, exhilarated.

"When shall we have our wedding?" Teta asked him breathlessly.

He replied as though he had already thought this through before speaking to her. "I will go to town myself in two weeks' time to pick up the finished gowns. Whilst I am there, I will arrange for a priest to come to our chapel to marry us. Is that acceptable to you?"

"Yes!" She grinned. "I must admit I am still rather shocked, but that sounds like a fine plan."

He smiled back, his eyes now traveling down her white nightgown. "I hope you will not make me wait for our wedding night to bed you again?"

She made a faux-thoughtful face and put a finger to her lips as if she were thinking hard. "Oh, I suppose it would be a bit silly to deny you at this point," she said.

Still standing beside the bed, Algus grabbed his nightshirt by the collar and pulled it off over his head. He almost threw it to the floor in his eagerness to have his wife-to-be, but he was by nature a meticulously neat person, and ultimately, he could not bring himself to do so. He folded the shirt and gave it a small toss onto the table beside his bed. He was already hard. Now he stood naked before Teta as she perched on the edge of his bed. He knew he had a large cock, nicely in proportion with the rest of his large upper body, and he enjoyed the hungry look on Teta's face as she watched it standing at attention. She reached out her hand and touched it, first awkwardly brushing over the length of his shaft, but then closing her fingers around it firmly. His breathing came faster as she did so, and she moved her hand up and down.

"I want you," she said simply. No words could excite Algus more; it was still such a novelty to him to be truly wanted by anyone. And the undercurrent of lust in her voice sent a thrill of excitement through his stomach.

"Oh? You want me inside of you?" he said.

Algus reached for the hem of her nightgown and tugged the garment off of her. She pulled her own underwear off eagerly. For a moment they stood together and she kissed him again, feeling her bare breasts pressed against his chest, his erection urgent against her lower belly. His hands snaked around her to cup her ass cheeks, kneading the soft flesh. As he slid his tongue inside her mouth, she began to rhythmically grind her pelvis against his body, her bottom sexily rocking in his hands, as if she simply could not wait to have him.

Algus had always suspected, or perhaps just hoped, that Teta was secretly quite a lustful person. She had a mysterious intensity to her personality. She was rarely silly or frivolous, like most women her age were wont to be, but sometimes when she so much as stood near him, he thought he could feel a sort of heated desire radiating from her. It was something he would have had a hard time explaining in words. Algus had insulted Teta at times in the past, called her dull or ugly, partly to try to hide his own desires for her, but also for another reason he was still a bit embarrassed to admit. Whenever he had said something rude to her, she could not insult him back, of course, due to being a servant in his home. But she never reacted the way he expected a young woman would. Any other girl being called such names, he thought, would cry, or exclaim that he was cruel. Teta, instead, usually went completely silent. But sometimes she would shoot a glare of pure fire at him for a moment, before walking away. And he thought that spark in her eyes said something along the lines of: _I'll hurt you back, one day._

He did not know why this excited him so much. But even years before he had ever touched her, Algus had wondered how Teta's brand of intensity might translate in the bedroom. Feeling her take the lead now, rolling her hips to rub against him, made him hopeful that some of his earlier imaginings about her had been accurate. Now that she had a bit of experience with sex, she might just be the fiery wanton he had always suspected.

"Do you want to be on top of me this time?" Algus asked her. He moved onto the bed, onto his back, his manhood still hard and waiting for her. Teta's face was so very serious now, but she did not hesitate to climb over him on the bed. He was surprised, but unspeakably pleased, when she took hold of him and guided him to her entrance without his assistance. Here she paused, up on her knees, eyes closed, with just the tip of his cock inside her. He dared not move an inch. He had nearly stopped breathing; he was so fascinated to watch her. With a sigh of pleasure, she finally let her hips rock down, sliding her pussy the rest of the way onto his shaft, like a sheath to a sword. Again, she stopped here, with her head partly thrown back and breathing heavily.

She opened her eyes and looked darkly down at him through hooded lids. "Oh, gods, that feels good," she panted.

He had no words, only tight-jawed admiration for the sight of her enjoying being astride him. Teta began to bounce her hips a bit, discovering how it felt to move on top of him. Algus held perfectly still, his hands up near his head, happy to let her explore this position as she pleased. From the sound of her breathing, he was quite certain she was enjoying herself.

Teta placed her palms over his pectoral muscles and leaned a bit of her weight down onto her hands. Like this, she found she could more easily glide herself up and down on him, and she started to find a steady rhythm, grinding atop him. She was already flustered, already feeling the build-up of intensity to indicate that she would come soon. And Algus beneath her looked cool as a stone, as he watched her work. In that moment, she did not like to see him so composed, while she was gripped by such a lustful ache. She dropped to her elbows. Her swaying breasts grazed his chest, her forehead and nose were pressed flush against his own. She even slid her hand behind his head and grabbed a handful of his hair, gripping it a bit harder than necessary, making his eyes go wide. What did not change was the rocking motion of her hips, the sliding of her pussy again and again around his cock as she felt herself growing even tighter and wetter. He looked both shocked and desperately grateful for what she was doing.

Teta rode herself to her frenzied completion on top of him. When her orgasm ended, he was still hard, still watching her in awe, like she was some sort of goddess, so she kept going. She came again, and by the time she felt on the edge of a third orgasm, Algus rolled them over wildly, flipping her onto her back and jamming himself deep into her again. He hammered hard inside her, braced on his forearms with all control lost now, desperate for his own climax. Teta loved this most of all, this furious taking of her, and she spasmed with her own final release as he at last finished.

Teta could not remember ever feeling more at peace with everything in her life.

00000

The following two weeks in the Sadalfas household were unusually joyous. Algus announced to the servants that he intended to wed Teta as soon as he could fetch a priest to their small chapel room. Teta had never been particularly close with the cleaning maids, the outdoor staff, or Cook's assistant, but they seemed happy for her anyway. Cook and her husband Tom were ecstatic that Teta would become the new Lady of the manor. Cook had always been a bit motherly toward Teta, and she knew that Teta was a sweet girl who would be a kind and benevolent mistress to the household.

Algus had never been particularly successful at making alliances with other noblemen, but he was casually acquainted with the squires and the baron who owned the lands adjacent to his own. He had explained to Teta that he felt they could not have a large wedding ceremony. If he made his wedding a proper event, then these noblemen would expect to be invited, and Algus could not imagine explaining to all of his peers that he had decided to wed a girl with no status, no dowry, and no ability to increase his own social standing. Their wedding would be private, with only Layla, Cook, and Tom as witnesses. Teta did not mind this. She was still surprised that she would have a wedding at all; she did not need a large event.

It was also a great source of excitement to her that Algus had told her to bring all of his late mother's fine gowns out of storage. If any of the gowns suited her taste, then Algus would take them to the seamstress to have them re-sized to fit Teta. She would dress as beautifully as she had when she lived with the Beoulves, now that she was to become Algus' wife.

Algus' mother, the late Lady Matilda Sadalfas, had had truly exquisite taste. Teta had never seen these dresses; they had been put into storage chests well before she first came to live in the manor. Each gown she unpacked was lovelier than the last. She asked Cook to lace her into one of the well-made corset bodices, and then she tried on a goldenrod silk with thick underskirts, and twirled happily before Layla, who clapped excitedly. It seemed that Lady Matilda had been a couple of inches taller than Teta, the hems of the skirts would need to be taken up, but they were comparable in size otherwise.

Algus actually smiled when he saw Teta in the yellow silk gown. He cared little for the dress itself, but the low neckline and the corset made her stunning in a way her old brown and gray dresses could not have done.

After seeing and wearing Matilda's former gowns, Teta wondered whether Algus' mother had looked like him or not.

He seemed shy to talk about his own appearance. "I think I have her eyes," he admitted. "But my mother had dark hair. Sort of like your color," he said, flipping the end of Teta's braid through his fingers. "I suppose Layla and I take after our father more than our mother." He looked like he was struggling with something for a moment, and then he asked her, "What were your parents like? I do not even— How old were you when they died? Do you remember them?"

He sounded as if he were reluctantly asking these things against his will, even though he wanted the answers. Teta thought she understood. He was asking for details about her _commoner _parents, and that probably pained him in a way. Even though he loved her, he still had not completely come to terms with the idea that _other_ common people could matter as much as he did, could be as human and as real.

"I do remember them. I was eight years old when they died, but I remember them." She set about telling Algus every little memory she could pull up of life with her farmer parents. Every kind moment, every laugh they had had together. Algus was a good, silent listener. Teta wanted him to understand how funny and lovely her mother had been, how honest and hardworking her father. She greatly wanted him to understand that they had been _real_, as she was real, that they had not been the mindless chattel he thought commoners were. They had loved her, and Delita, fiercely. When she finished talking, she was smiling, flushed, glad she had been given a chance to remember her mother and father out loud.

"You still miss them," Algus said.

"Yes. Always," she paused, then reached out to take his hand in hers. "Do you not miss your parents?"

"…No," he answered, slowly but truthfully. She thought he might not be planning to say anything more, but he finally added, "They were not… like your parents. In truth, I do not believe they cared much for me at all."

Teta had thought he might say something along those lines, based on things Cook had previously told her about the former lord and lady Sadalfas. She squeezed Algus' hand tightly. "I am sure that cannot be true."

He shook his head. "No, Teta. It was true. They were… hateful. When they died, I could not even weep for them. I never had any cause to love them. When I heard the news, that they were dead… all I could think about was what I needed to do next, what I must do to secure my estate."

She heard the raw pain behind his words. She could not imagine having parents who did not love her, who were not worth weeping for when they died.

"I am sorry," Teta said, when it became clear that Algus had nothing more to add. She felt at a loss. There were no magic words to change a cold past.

"I love you. Layla loves you. If your parents could not… then it was not _your _fault."

Algus was not the sort to ever show much emotion, and Teta was not particularly surprised that his only response to this, at first, was to stare down at his hands with his expression blank.

"Your words are sweet," he finally told her. "I am a lucky man, that you are going to be my wife."

00000

It was finally, _finally _the day for Algus to go into town to do business with the seamstress and to hire a priest to come to wed them at the manor. Teta was so full of excitement that she could not sit still for a moment while he was gone. What if the priest was available today? Could it be that they would get to be wed this very evening? Probably, the priest would need a few days' notice before making the trip, but still, it was possible he would return with Algus today! Layla was excited too, simply to see Teta so energized. Layla's reading lessons were ineffective that day, as neither cared to focus much. Instead, they went outside and romped and played in the gardens.

Teta had spent the past couple of days moving her and Layla's possessions yet again. Algus had told her she should move herself into the chambers meant for the lady of the house, and move Layla back in to the nursery room after all. Layla seemed relieved to be back in her old room, as she had found sleeping in the massive lady's chambers a bit scary. Additionally, Algus had promised Teta that they would hire a lady's maid as soon as they found someone suitable. Teta would need a maid to lace her fine gowns and style her hair; it was not ideal to ask Cook for help every day.

"When you get a maid, will you make her style my hair as well?" Layla asked eagerly.

Teta smiled. "I think if you ask kindly, then she will be happy to style your hair. She will make you look like a little princess each day."

Layla giggled. "I am _princess _Layla!" she announced grandly, sweeping her skirts around and holding her head pompously high.

As the afternoon and then the evening wore on, Algus still had not returned to the manor. The trip usually did use up a whole day… but when night fell and he had not yet arrived, Teta began to worry. She sat on a stool in the kitchens watching Cook put away the last of the pots and pans. Layla was already in bed for the night.

"Don't fret," Cook assured her. "There are a hundred reasons he could be late, m'dear."

Still more time passed, and Cook was now speaking in concerned tones with Tom. They decided that if Algus was not home by midday tomorrow, then Tom himself would take a chocobo down the road to the town, to check on their lord's well-being.

Teta went to bed that night sick with worry. Algus had assured her he would be home that same day. What could possibly keep him overnight? What if he had been attacked on the road? Was he bleeding out in a gutter somewhere, while she lay here doing nothing?

Then the thought crossed her mind, that sometimes when men were gone overnight it was because they were visiting a brothel. Would he do that? They had never discussed the subject of him not bedding other women, but she realized she had naturally assumed he would not. She did not want him to be dead in a gutter, but by the gods, she did not want him to be bedding a whore right now, either! Her stomach continued to twist into knots. What little sleep she managed to get that night was broken and riddled with sick nightmares, and she felt horrible when she woke fully at sunrise. Algus was still not home.

Tom was seriously considering traveling to town, hours after breakfast, when Algus finally returned to the manor. Teta had been constantly watching from an upstairs window, her mind only half-focused on Layla's school lessons. The moment he rode up the lane, Teta dashed out to meet him. He was not yet dismounted from his chocobo when she cried, "Algus! Are you well? I was so worried for you!"

He looked as if he had slept no more than she had. There were deep circles under his eyes. In fact, he looked absolutely terrible, as if he were ill.

She grabbed both of his hands as soon as his feet were on the ground. "You look unwell! What has happened to you?"

He stared blankly at her.

"Did… Were you able to find a priest?"

"Teta…" he said. "There is news I must give you. Important news." He looked as if speaking pained him. "I… do not believe we will be allowed to marry after all."

00000


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Teta stood frozen in place after Algus made his grim pronouncement.

"I—what? Not allowed?" she stammered. The weight of her night full of worry, combined with this news, was too much. She felt a sort of helpless rage beginning to make her face flush. "You do not want to marry me, after all?" she snarled.

Algus grabbed her hard by her upper arms. "No!" he said, "Teta, I am doing a poor job of explaining myself." He eyed the stable lad who was curiously glancing at them as he began to lead Algus' chocobo away. "Let us go inside, and I will explain everything in private. This is actually, I suppose, good news for you."

"How can it possibly be good news if you do not want me anymore?"

He began to steer her toward the manor. "I never said I do not want you! Only it is not my choice to make anymore!" Algus quietly spat a string of curse words to himself.

Teta was stunned. Algus sounded borderline hysterical. He almost never used foul language; he felt it was too common for a nobleman such as himself.

"All right. All right," she said, in a conciliatory tone. "Let us get to your chambers quickly then, so you may tell me what is going on."

On the way through the halls, they passed one of the maids, who was startled to see her lord looking disgruntled and harried, and Teta frightened. They walked so fast they looked as if they might start running at any moment.

Inside Algus' sitting room, Teta collapsed into a chair. Algus took the seat next to her. He slumped forward, with his forearms on his knees. He briefly put his face in his hands, before he took a deep breath and looked up at her. She stared at him worriedly.

"Well," he said, "I suppose I should just say it. I believe your brother is still alive. And not only that, it seems he is the new duke of Igros."

Teta took a long moment to process what he said. The topic was so far from anything she had been imagining that it took a while to register in her mind. "Delita?" she said, dazedly.

"Yes! Delita, of course, Delita. You haven't any other brothers, have you?" he snapped.

"How… can that be? Algus, you are not making any sense. He died in the explosion at Ziekden. You know this."

"I do not believe he did. You recall we never actually found his body… All right, let me explain," he said. "From the beginning." He fidgeted as he collected his thoughts. "When I arrived in town yesterday, I went to the seamstress first. I collected the gowns she made, and I delivered the ones you needed her to alter. Then I went to the tavern. It was a bit late for lunch, and there were only two other men in there. I could not help overhearing everything they discussed. They were talking about a man named Delita Hyral, who apparently is Queen Ovelia's right-hand, and newly appointed as the duke of Igros. The seat was open for the granting since the Beoulves are all dead."

"It cannot be!" Teta exclaimed.

"Teta, I confess, last year I heard that a man with the surname of Hyral was close to Goltana, and was serving as one of his generals. But I never heard his first name, and I assumed it was a coincidence that his surname was Hyral. I thought, surely there are plenty of men called Hyral. I never believed for a moment that it could be your brother." He raised his eyebrows. "But now I believe it is. When I heard them say the name Delita Hyral, I begged them for more information. They had not met him, but they described him as a common-born lad from Igros who was raised in the Beoulve household. They said he had risen through the ranks of Goltana's men during the war, and he is now the favorite of Queen Ovelia!"

"Algus… If this is some sort of jest… I hope you would not do that to me. You think my brother is truly alive?"

"Yes. It seems too strange that this could be any man _but_ him. I think he must have survived Ziekden somehow, and then switched sides to serve Goltana. I cannot say I am surprised that he turned his coat on the Beoulves, after— well," he trailed off. "At any rate, it paid off for him. He was on the winning side, and he has taken Dycedarg's seat as duke!"

"If he is alive, I must see him! He must believe I am dead! Will you take me to him, Algus? What can we do?"

"Peace, Teta. I have already taken steps to inform him that you are here. I hired two messengers— at very great expense, I might add— to deliver letters to both Igros and Lesalia. The men in the tavern did not know Delita's current location, but I assumed that he must either be at his estate in Igros, or else at the royal city with the queen."

"What did you say in your letters?"

"It was not greatly detailed. I simply told him that you and I survived the blast at Ziekden, that we did not know until now that he lived. That you are safe, and you have been working as a governess in my home. And, of course, I wrote directions to the manor, assuming he will wish to come here."

Teta felt she would burst with budding hope. "Oh, this is wonderful news, Algus! I am trying, so very hard, to not be too excited, yet. I will not believe he lives until I see him with my own eyes. But, truly, it would be a miracle! After all this time that I have believed him dead!"

Algus half-heartedly gave her a closed-lipped smile that looked more like a grimace.

"But… I still do not know why you were gone for so long? And why are you so unhappy? I know you were not _fond_ of Delita when you knew each other, but surely you two will set aside your differences now? For me?"

"Teta, do you truly not understand? There will be no reason to 'set aside our differences'. If what those men said is true, then he is a _duke_! And a friend to the queen! You are the _sister _of a grand duke! Delita will take you away from here when he comes for you. A duke would never let his sister marry the likes of me." He laughed bitterly. "Can you believe the irony? I thought I was about to marry a woman far below my station. And as it turns out, now you are so far above my station that I can never have you. I think the gods must be punishing me."

"No!" Teta exclaimed fiercely. "Here, you are wrong! Delita will never make me leave you."

"He will. Do not be foolish."

"I am not being foolish! But fine. Then let us marry before he gets here. No man can undo a marriage already made before the gods."

He shook his head. "You really do not grasp the situation. I admit, I find it difficult to believe, myself. If your brother truly has the queen's friendship, then he may be the most powerful man in Ivalice right now. If Delita still lives, as your only kin, then you _belong_ to him. If I dare to marry his sister without his permission, then I may as well just chop off my own head. With the queen's help, he could easily order me executed for it. He probably would; he hated me even when we both served under Ramza."

Teta was still reeling from the shock of the new information. "Then we will get his permission to marry, when he comes here," she insisted.

Algus chuckled hopelessly. "A duke's sister, matched with a disgraced country squire? I think not. In my grandfather's time, my family was great enough that I could have been acceptable for you. But not now. I realized it last night… and then I drank in the tavern for a long time, and then I took a room upstairs." He gave her a glum look. "I have lost you, Teta."

Teta sighed. "You have not _lost _me, and I will not give you up. I love you! And I will make Delita accept it. No matter how grand he has become, he is my brother, and he will want me to be happy."

"Would you still be happy here? You have not taken time to think about this. Your brother could arrange a fine marriage for you. You could be the lady of a castle, instead of this manor," Algus scowled, "Of course, what I have here, I am pleased to share with you, but it is nothing compared to what your brother now has."

"I do not care! What good is a castle to me? I will not leave you, or Layla! He would have to drag me away by force, and I know he would not do that to me." Teta shook her head in disbelief. "How very strange this all is! How can I be so happy and so sad in one moment? My brother, alive. Oh, Algus, I am certain everything will be all right."

"You really would not leave me, even for all that a duke could offer you?" Algus asked. He looked so afraid and defeated that Teta could not bear it. She stood from her chair and climbed into his lap awkwardly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pressing his face against her chest. She kissed the top of his head and buried her nose in his hair. The thought of leaving him upset her so much that she could not entertain the idea at all.

"Of course, I would not," she said. "I promise, we will find a way to make my brother understand."

00000

Eight days after Algus returned from his unhappy trip to town, a messenger arrived at the Sadalfas manor. He wore Queen Ovelia's royal sigil at his breast, and was outfitted in the expensive livery of the royal family's personal attendants. Pieces of golden armor were strapped to his mount's side, along with the saddlebags, but he wore his long sword sheathed at his hip. His face and his fine clothing were dusty and sweat-stained, as though he had had a long journey with not enough rest breaks. Tom hailed the messenger in the courtyard before the manor.

"I am here to deliver a message to Lady Teta Hyral," the man drawled at Tom.

Tom puzzled at Teta being called a lady. She had not yet married lord Algus, as far as he knew. But he did not quibble with the messenger. "I will be happy to see a letter safe into her hands for you, sir," Tom said.

The messenger gave him a haughty lidded glare from atop his chocobo. "I have been instructed to deliver my message directly to Lady Hyral. Will you show me to her parlor, and have a lad see to my chocobo?" He phrased the question rather more like a command.

Baffled, Tom led the man inside and brought him to the formal sitting room. Then he went to fetch Teta.

Teta was stunned to see the beautifully-dressed messenger bearing Ovelia's crest. She still half did not believe that Delita could be alive, but this seemed to indicate that the gossip Algus had heard might be true.

The messenger gave her a deep formal bow. "My lady! Lady Teta Hyral?" he asked.

"Yes?" she replied uncertainly.

"So, it is true!" The messenger gave a dry laugh, his throat sounding parched. Seeing Teta's confused expression, he explained, "I am Sir Piers Smythers, my lady. I am a Holy Knight in the service of the Queen, and Lord Delita. My lord, your brother, sent me ahead of his party to assure you that he is on his way. He needed some extra time to settle his affairs in the capital and gather his retinue for this journey. He wished me to tell you that he expects to arrive here three days after myself. _I _was instructed to ride here with utmost haste to—" he coughed sharply, dust still in his throat from his ride, "to ensure that you were indeed safe and well, and that this was not some elaborate hoax." He studied her carefully. "But I think it is not. I have served Lord Delita and fought beside him for over a year, and I think I see much of his face in your own, my lady."

"So, the gossip was true? My brother yet lives?" Teta said.

Piers smiled brightly. "I saw him hale and hearty but a week ago. My lady, I do not mean to overstep my place, but I daresay Lord Delita will be delighted to see you. He and I have camped together for weeks at a time on campaign." He paused for another hacking cough. "He told me how you had died in an explosion at Ziekden Fortress, and he confided in me that he thought he had never loved another person since the day he failed to save you. He was… overcome, when he received the news that you were here."

"I was overcome, as well. I am still overcome. I never dreamed I would have such happy news! Thank you, Sir Piers! You say he will be here in three days' time?"

"Yes, my lady. He wanted to see you urgently, but he cannot simply ride off as he pleases any longer. Your brother has many responsibilities, and he is too important to travel without guards. His plan was to bring along four of his Knights and make the trip as quickly as they are able. Still, he wanted to get word to you as fast as possible, and that was why he sent me alone, ahead of the rest. My lady, if I may impose upon your servants for a drink? And I must speak with the lord of this manor, about accommodations for myself, and for Lord Delita and his guard."

"Of course! I am sorry to make you wait so long for a drink, you must be thirsty and tired."

Teta set about making arrangements for Sir Piers' stay.

00000

In bed that night, Teta was still wide awake with elation that she would soon see Delita. Algus did not exactly share her enthusiasm.

"That Sir Piers was cold as ice toward me," Algus commented, his teeth gritted angrily at the memory of their stilted dinner together earlier that evening. "I can only assume that your brother has told him unsavory tales about me. And I am sure it was no accident that Delita sent a man who outranks me, even to be his _errand boy_. He means to humiliate me in any way he can."

"Oh Algus, surely not. Sir Piers has been pleasant enough, I think. He was pleased with the room we offered him in the guest quarters."

"For now," Algus said darkly. "We haven't enough rooms to house him, and Delita, and four more knights, when they arrive. Such noblemen will not be pleased to hear they must share beds with each other during this jaunt to the countryside." He amended, "We will give Delita his own room, of course. The Knights may share, though they will not like it, but not a duke."

Teta tried to reassure him. "Sharing rooms in this lovely house will be far less of a burden than sleeping on camp beds in tents. They are soldiers, they will not make a fuss." She pushed herself up on to her hands and set her face to loom over Algus' face in the dark. She dropped down to press her lips against his. His petulant attitude slowly fell away as he began to return her kiss. Teta slid her tongue against his lips and into his mouth. At last, he seemed to find his own spark of lust, and he expertly massaged her tongue with his own, and brought his hands up to grip her hips. She began to feel hopeful…

"No, stop this, Teta," Algus said, not unkindly. He carefully pulled her back down to lie chastely beside him.

"I want to be with you again," Teta breathed. She grabbed his hand and slid it up her body until he cupped her right breast.

Algus breathed hard, feeling excitement washing through him from her deep kiss and her supple bosom filling his hand.

"No," he said shakily, "I told you, I will not take you again unless we receive your brother's permission to marry."

"You have already taken me… and he will never know what we do tonight, Algus."

"I cannot. Think, Teta. We have already taken risks; we must stop being reckless. I cannot take the chance of getting you with child tonight. What if he does not consent to us marrying? If he takes you away from here, and later finds you are pregnant… I hate to think what he would do."

"What if I am with child already?"

Algus' heart nearly stopped beating. "_Are you_?"

"No! I mean, I do not know. How could I know yet?"

"We must pray you are not. I am certain Delita would execute me for that. I fear he may punish you as well, for laying with a man he hates."

"Please do not say such things. I am probably not with child yet. But even if I were, my brother would not harm us. And we would certainly be married before the baby was born."

"There is truly no sense in worrying about such an unlikely future. I would still place odds that your brother will force you to leave here." Algus sighed. "Let us enjoy what time we have together. Where is that book you were reading to me the other day? I would hear more, if you will read aloud."

00000


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

To say the least, it was an awkward three days' wait for Delita's arrival. Courtesy demanded that Algus invite Sir Piers to come hunting with him each morning, but he was annoyed that Piers actually accepted his invitation. Ever since the day Ramza had rejected his friendship and ordered him away from Igros castle, Algus had made an uneasy peace with the fact that he was a loner by nature. His other forays into making friends had never quite succeeded either, and at this point he had little interest in continuing his failed attempts. He occasionally visited with the noblemen who owned the lands around his own, and though he was always well-received, he still would not venture to call any of those men his true friends. He saw no reason to believe that Sir Piers' company would be anything more than a burden.

Surprisingly, however, by their second morning together, Algus had to admit that Sir Piers was not_ that_ distasteful. Piers was a talkative sort, but not overly so. Most importantly, he seemed uninterested in humiliating Algus, as he had originally feared. Piers never once brought up the subjects of Algus' relatively low status, or his traitorous grandfather, or the humble size of the manor (compared to the great estate Piers himself undoubtedly owned). They discussed neutral topics only, such as their hunting, or the petty court intrigues Piers had been privy to in the past year, while serving Delita. Overall, Algus' preference was still to be alone during his morning hunt, but he could have had worse company than Piers. The man's open, laughing demeanor at least gave Algus a scrap of hope that Delita was not coming here looking for a fight.

Meanwhile, Teta grew more uneasy with each passing hour. Her excitement to see the brother she had thought dead was so bright that it sometimes felt like it was burning inside her chest. But she also found herself worrying that he may no longer be the same young man she remembered. Three years was a long time, especially when spent drenched in blood, protecting a hunted princess. Teta knew that in a strange way, it would hurt her if Delita no longer looked and spoke the way that she recalled.

Additionally, Algus was acting more and more distant toward her as the hour of Delita's arrival drew nearer. He was convinced that Delita would force her to go to the capital, and that she would never be allowed to marry him. She felt like he was already saying goodbye to her, with his silence and his refusal to be intimate with her now.

On the morning of the third day, Algus gently rolled Teta to face him in the bed, the gray morning sunlight illuminating his dark hazel eyes and the deep shadows beneath them. He kissed her squarely on her lips, ignoring her sleepiness.

He then stared at her thoughtfully. "This is probably the last time I will ever get to kiss you," he told her. "I want to memorize everything about you, right now."

Teta felt a sharp poke inside her heart, but she tried not to show it. "I think that may be the kindest thing you have ever said to me," she told him. She stroked an errant lock of hair out of his eyes, and then continued to run her hand through his hair over and over again. "But I refuse to think that way. This is just another day, like any other. I am excited to see Delita, but as I have told you, I will not leave you. He cannot make me."

He smiled wistfully, as if he thought her foolish.

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Despite her confident words of the morning, when Teta saw a troupe of five regal-looking men on chocobos galloping into the courtyard, she was nearly sick with nervousness. Her heart raced and she felt sweat beading down her back. Even so, her legs were flying, carrying her down the stairs and out the front door without the slightest hint of decorum.

It was him. His face was a bit leaner perhaps, and his jaw was shadowed with the hint of a beard he had not yet been able to grow three years ago, but it was definitely him. Teta had come to a halt a few yards away from his chocobo. She did not even notice the four other men behind him. They did not matter to her.

"Delita," she gasped.

Having only just dismounted, Delita turned and stared at Teta for a bare moment. He closed the gap between them, grabbed her cheeks in his gloved hands to better see her face. She was surprised to see his eyes instantly glassy. "It is really you," Delita breathed. "I cannot believe you are alive, Teta." He seemed not to even notice that his tears had begun to spill down his cheeks. Teta felt her own eyes brimming over as well. She threw her arms around him, and he hugged her back as though he would never let go. Teta lost track of how long they stood there weeping in each other's arms. Delita's knights followed the stable boys and chocobos over to the stable, to give their lord his privacy until they were wanted again.

Eventually, Delita pulled back to arm's length, studying his sister's face again. "Are you well, Teta? Have you been safe here? With—" he made a sound of disgust in his throat, "Algus? You have been treated kindly?"

"Yes! I am quite well, brother. And you? We must get you indoors! We will arrange a meal for you and your men right away."

Delita waved a hand dismissively. "I will eat later. For now, I would like some water and some wine, and a private room in which to speak with you." He looked around. "Where is my man, Piers? And Algus, for that matter?"

"They are still out hunting; they did not know you would arrive this early in the morning."

Delita grinned. "I rode as hard as I could to get here to see you. My knights are exhausted; they may wish to sleep before their meal, if the servants here will see them to their rooms."

"Of course," Teta said. "Delita, I am so pleased to see you! All this time, I believed you were dead! Seeing you now, it is as if all my prayers were answered."

"I believed you were dead as well," Delita said solemnly. "I can still scarce believe my eyes."

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Having settled into comfortable chairs in the sitting room inside the chambers designated for the Lady of the manor, Delita and Teta continued their conversation as one of the maids set down a tray of drinks for Delita and then exited. Teta noted that Delita's ensemble was even more expensive-looking than Sir Piers' gear. The clothing he wore was far too fine to be traveling in, but the sweat and dust ruining the priceless fabric seemed not to bother Delita at all. She supposed it must be true that he was quite wealthy now.

"I have so many questions for you, Delita!" Teta exclaimed. "I saw it myself, you were standing so close to the fortress when it exploded. Tell me how it is that you escaped with your life? And why you were gone from Ziekden when I awoke? And how can it be that you are now the Duke of Gallione?"

"Teta," Delita looked incredibly somber, "I beg your forgiveness for leaving you at Ziekden Fortress. It was not my choice, I promise you."

"I believe you, Delita," she said softly, "But explain, please."

"All right. When the fortress exploded, I took a great blow to my head. I was unconscious for the entire night afterward. When I awoke, I was no longer at the fortress. It was Ramza's doing… Ramza was far enough away from the blast that he was unscathed. He told me he found me unconscious and badly burned, so he and his followers gave me some potions and carried me away with them when they fled. Ramza was furious with Zalbag about what happened, and he had refused to return to Igros with him."

Teta smiled to hear that Ramza at least had cared that she had been put in harm's way.

Delita continued, "But everyone was in a hurry to run from Ziekden; with the amount of powder in that fortress they did not know if there might be another explosion after the first. So Ramza took his team toward Gariland. When I woke the next morning, we were only perhaps two miles from Ziekden; the team had not managed to travel very far before night had fallen, what with the snow, and having to take turns carrying me. Teta, as soon as I woke, I asked Ramza where you were. He told me he had seen the explosion engulf the bridge where you had been standing. He said after he found me, he looked under the bridge for your body, but he had not found it there. He thought you were probably burned up in the fire. And he dared not linger around the fortress for a thorough search; they were all afraid another blast would come at any time."

He paused to take a sip of water. "I was outraged that Ramza had taken me away without you. Even if you were dead, I would never have simply left your body there! I—I said some cruel things to Ramza, and I left his company to walk back to Ziekden and search for you. He offered to accompany me and help me search, but I told him to leave me be. Actually, I told him I never wanted to see him or his miserable brother again."

Teta opened her mouth to speak, as she was curious if Delita knew more about Ramza's whereabouts. Algus had told her that Ramza had been branded a heretic, and had a bounty on his head. But she then decided to wait and let Delita finish his tale.

"You must have arrived at Ziekden only hours after I left," she said.

"It was mid-morning, the day after the blast," he nodded. "I ran almost the whole way there, or walked as fast as I could in that deep snow. I searched that whole damn fortress for hours, but found not a trace of you. I finally believed that Ramza must have been correct, that you had burned up in the fire. There were many burned bodies there that I could not identify."

Teta began to cry again, to hear of him facing that agony. "Oh Delita, I had thought the very same thing of _you_!" she wept. "I was thrown from the bridge when the fortress exploded, and I was also unconscious for a time, but my injuries were small, really. I woke up only a short while later, to find everyone gone. Then I found Algus nearly dead from the blast, and I gathered potions to revive him. He reminded me that you had been running toward the fortress right before the explosion, and I remembered that I _had _seen you doing so! I searched everywhere for you, but obviously, I did not find you. It never occurred to me that you might have survived as well! I thought surely if you were alive, then you would have found me. But we only barely missed each other! Algus and I set out on our trip to Limberry at first light the next day… Delita, I can hardly believe you are here now! I feel as if I am in some sort of happy dream."

Delita's face had turned sour at the mere mention of Algus' name. "To see you now is indeed like a happy dream. But, by the gods, to know that you had to rely on that… _person_ for protection is a nightmare for me. I remember what he was like, Teta. I despised him even before I saw him point a crossbow at you. I pray he was not cruel to you, but I also cannot imagine him otherwise… Are you well? Have you been treated well? Do tell me the truth!" He gave her an earnest look, "Perhaps you have had reason to fear him these past years, but you are under my protection now, Teta. Do tell me if anything foul has befallen you at his hands, and I will see that he is given his just treatment."

"No!" Teta exclaimed, "No, Delita. My lord Algus has treated me kindly. I know you… had harsh words with him in the past, but I pray you will find forgiveness for him in your heart."

Delita gave her a look of frank disbelief.

Teta continued, "At Ziekden, when I told him I could not return to live with Zalbag, he saw me safely here, and he gave me a position as governess to his sister. I have always been safe and comfortable here. I love little Layla, she has become like a daughter to me. Truly. Delita, I never stopped mourning the loss of you, but at least Layla was a bit of solace to me."

"I am glad you have not been entirely alone since I last saw you. The little girl must be very different from her brother, I suppose," Delita said, still obviously lost in murderous thoughts toward Algus.

Teta smiled uncomfortably. "Anyway, I am eager to hear of _your_ life since then. You have risen so far! You must have amazing tales to tell?"

Delita smiled. "I think it would take me weeks to tell you everything that has happened to me. I hope we shall find that time, but for now I shall attempt to give you the simplest version of my story. I broke ties with the Beoulves, of course, after Ziekden. I joined the Order of the Southern Sky at first, simply because I did not wish to fight on the same side as Zalbag any longer… By the way, you may be pleased to know that Zalbag is now missing, and believed to be dead. I had hoped to kill him myself, one day, but I am at least satisfied that he died with no heirs and his line is ended. It is the least he deserved."

Teta sighed. "Oh, Delita. I have tried over the years to forgive Zalbag. I think… I have never quite succeeded, but I know it helps no one to hold on to such hate. But please, continue with your story!"

"All right… Teta, seeing you attacked… it _changed_ something within me. I felt so powerless and small that day, and I vowed that I would never be powerless again. So, I endeavored to climb the ranks of the nobility. I also built friendships with Church officials as I found opportunities. I was promoted from squire to baron, and I became a Holy Knight in service to Ovelia. As the war continued and more of the nobility was killed in battle, I became more and more valuable to Duke Goltana. Upon his own death, I became the primary advisor to Ovelia. Now that she is Queen, I rarely leave her side. I cannot, in fact, remain here much longer; she is uneasy to have me gone. And, as you know, Ovelia has thus far made me the new duke of Igros and all of Gallione as thanks for my loyalty to her."

"That is so incredible, Delita! Like a hero's tale from the ancient stories!"

"Can you believe it? That castle we grew up in, under the Beoulves. It is _my _castle now," he grinned, "Of course, I have scarce even visited Igros since becoming duke. The kingdom is still disordered from the war, and Ovelia needs me in Lesalia with her. There is still much to be done. Half of the nobility is dead or missing, and as for those who fought against us, Ovelia must continue to divide out their territories to her allies. Ovelia was not raised to understand politics well. She was too often kept in a convent, away from the court, and now even her close councilors rarely seem to have her best interests at heart. I am the only advisor she can trust."

Teta raised her eyebrows. "To be the Queen's closest advisor is no small thing. I am so proud of you, Delita. I only wish our parents still lived to see your success. Mother would be so pleased! She did always say you were special."

Delita pretended at a humble expression, but a smug, boyish grin peeked through. "I am touched by your words. Ah, Teta, I cannot wait for you to see the royal keep in Lesalia. You will be good friends with Queen Ovelia in no time, I am certain. Did you know she was friends with Alma years ago?"

Teta nodded.

"You shall live like a princess yourself!" Delita continued, "We are wealthier now than you can imagine. I promise I will make it up to you, that you had to live in _this place_ for years," he gestured around the fine sitting room as if to indicate that the manor was a pitiful hovel.

"Delita, I have been happy here—" she began.

"You have never liked to complain, and I admire you for it," he gave her a patronizing smile, "But I tell you, all hardships are over for you now. I will buy you anything you could possibly desire. Truth be told, you and I must make an effort now to dress expensively. Some of the nobility cannot bear to see a common man like me raised so high. And so, we must at least dress the part of a grand duke and his sister, to be taken seriously. And I expect whenever you wish to marry, we will make you an _excellent_ match. An earl, or even a marquis! Nothing will be too good for you, Teta. I have the means to give you a good life, now." He fairly beamed with pride.

"Delita… thank you, truly. But there is something else of importance I really must discuss with you."

"Oh? Speak, then."

"I—well—it relates to the question of me coming to Lesalia with you…"

He frowned. "I had hoped to keep you close to me, in Lesalia. But if the Royal city frightens you, you may also live at the castle in Igros. I will visit you as frequently as I am able."

"That is the problem, Delita… I do not wish to leave _here_. There is something you do not yet know." She met his eyes, imploring him to be understanding. "A month ago, before either of us yet knew that you still lived, Algus and I planned to be wed."

Delita looked as if he had been unexpectedly punched. "I am sorry," he said icily, "I believe I have misheard you."

She sighed. "No. I was going to marry Algus. He was actually in town to arrange a time for a priest to come here to marry us. He stopped at a tavern afterward, and that was where he learned that you were alive, and the duke of Igros, no less."

Delita still looked uncomprehending.

"And I was overjoyed, truly, to learn that you still lived, Delita. My heart could not be fuller now. But I do not wish to leave this manor. I still love Algus, and I want him for my husband. He told me we could not proceed with our wedding without your permission—"

"Of course, you cannot!" Delita roared. "What is this nonsense? You cannot possibly love that—that _evil_, venomous… garbage-heap!"

"Delita!"

"He has surely tricked you in some way, to make you say such things. Of course, he wants to marry you, _now. _He thinks he will be rich from your dowry!"

"No! Delita, I had no dowry when he asked me to wed him. He did not know you lived, any more than I knew! He loves me, as I love him."

A dark expression crossed Delita's face. "Oh, Ajora," he made a sound of choked rage, and he glared at her thunderously, "Tell me he has not already bedded you?"

Teta froze, afraid to reply. She had never imagined that in a million years Delita would ask her that question point-blank. She had not prepared herself to answer it, and the silence began to stretch onward as she panicked over what to say. But that was answer enough for her enraged brother. Delita sprang to his feet, hand at his sword hilt.

"I will have his head for this!" he screamed.

Teta leaped into his path to force him to a standstill.

"Delita, it is not what you think!"

He tried to push past her, and she squirmed to stay in his way.

"Please, brother, if you still bear me any love at all, then hear me speak!"

He breathed heavily, as if he were on the verge of a mental breakdown, but he stopped moving. "Of course I love you, Teta. You are my only family. I—I—I cannot _live _knowing he has touched you! You were a servant in his house! Only the lowest _worm_ of a lord would take advantage—" he seemed too upset to finish his sentence.

"It was not his fault," Teta said. Though she was mortified to speak such humiliating words to her own brother, she rushed onward with her speech so he would hear her out. "In nearly three years here, he never touched me. It was only a couple months past that he returned from the war, and I began to enjoy talking to him when we had free time. But it was only friendship! He never took advantage of me. I—" she took a deep breath for courage, "I knocked at his bedroom door one night. And I asked him to. To… you know."

Delita looked as if he would vomit. He literally stumbled back into his chair. "Teta… how _could you_?" he moaned.

She felt drained now of any scrap of pride she had ever held. It was not even painful to confess the rest. "I was lonely. I am eighteen years old, and I had never had a suitor. Never even been kissed by a boy. I thought I would die an old maid, and it made me sad. And I already loved Algus then. I know it is wrong in the eyes of the gods, but I wanted to be with him. And so, I asked."

"He should have said no," Delita muttered, staring at the ceiling. "Perhaps _you_ did not know any better, but _he _certainly knew what he was taking from you. He would have married you first, if he truly cared for you."

"Delita, he did not mean to wrong me. He did ask me to marry him, only two days later!"

"Too little, too late," Delita said. "He will suffer for supposing he could use my sister in such a manner."

Teta decided to play her final card. "Delita, you will not do anything to harm him!" she snapped. "I am alive because of him. I live because he was there to protect me when you were not."

Delita sputtered, but she held up a hand to silence him. She had not wanted to lay guilt at his feet, but she felt he had left her no other options.

"I would have died overnight at Ziekden if Algus had not started a fire to warm us. Do you think I know how to start a fire in a snowstorm? I assure you, I do not. I would have frozen to death without him. You would have found my corpse when you arrived the next day. And what's more, on the journey away from the fortress: how would I have fared by myself, a maid alone in the woods? When we were approaching Gariland, we passed a lot of homeless men in those woods. It was only the sight of Algus' weapons that kept them away from me. And he gave me a good position in his own household, where I have been safe all this time. Delita, if you are happy that I am alive today, then you owe him a debt of gratitude. He was the only person who was there for me." She stared at his face until he miserably met her eyes.

"I _wanted _to be there for you, Teta," he said. He buried his face in his hands. She thought he was crying silently, and could not bear for her to see. "Why did it have to be Algus, of all people?" he finally complained into his palms. "It pains me. Teta, you do not comprehend how much I despised him when we were squires together."

Teta knelt before Delita and gently gripped his hands, pulling them away from his reddened eyes. "I love you, brother. I missed you more than you can imagine, when I believed you were dead. Now, I ask as the price for all that pain, that you forgive Algus. Perhaps you will find he is not the same person you once knew. I still wish to marry him, and I pray you will give us your blessing."

"He does not deserve you," Delita said.

"I swear I will be happy with no one else," Teta replied.

Delita sighed. "I make no promises now," he said. "I will speak with your intended, and if he is only seeking you for my money or fame, then I will smoke out the truth."

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*********A/N: **_Thank you for your review of the story so far, Hunger Man! Hehehe, yes I have to admit that 12 years between sections of the story is a bit inexcusable. Basically, what had happened was that after I wrote chapter seven of Algus Returns, I realized I had no idea how I wanted to end the story, and as more time went by and I didn't randomly have any good ideas, I sort of gave up. Fast forward almost twelve years, and I decided to start a new game of Tactics on my phone yet again, and suddenly I was struck with all of the details of how I wanted to continue/finish Teta and Algus' tale. Can't believe it took this long, but better late than never, I guess! I'm so glad to hear that you like it so far! I think your idea that I should write a prequel fic is a great one. I do still love my original story (Algus Returns), but I also have a ton of ideas for ways it could have gone differently, and different scenarios Teta and Algus could have found themselves in that slowly changed their relationship. I really do enjoy writing these characters, I agree with you that it would be worth developing their transition from animosity to relationship more thoroughly once I finish this fic!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Delita requested that Teta show him to his chamber next, and she escorted him to the largest suite of guest rooms in the manor. She promised to send maids immediately to draw him a hot bath and set out his lunch in his room. He looked weary from the long journey to find her.

After his meal, Delita told the serving girl to go and arrange for him a private audience with Algus. He was quickly brought to the sitting room of the squire who owned the home his sister had lived in all this time. A _squire, _honestly. Delita inwardly scoffed to himself. In three years, the bastard who had been obsessed with social climbing had not even managed to earn a knighthood through his service to Marquis Elmdor? How could his sister be fond of such a loser?

"I hope your journey here was not difficult, my lord?" Algus said to Delita as he entered the room.

"My journey was unremarkable," Delita replied. He looked over his former nemesis with disdain. The sneer of privilege that Algus had always worn at Igros was absent from his face now. Instead he looked nervous, jumpy. It was not quite what Delita had expected. He had imagined that Algus would be licking his boots, sucking up to him now that he had the power Algus had always so desperately desired. He had seen Algus act like a dog for lords Dycedarg and Zalbag, after all.

"Will you have a seat, my lord? Some wine?" Algus asked formally, as the silence stretched on between them. He self-consciously ran a hand through his golden-blond hair to slick it away from his face as Delita stared him down.

Finally, Delita said coldly, "Do not waste my time, _squire_. Let us get to the root of this. You have kept my sister alive and relatively well since last I saw you. But I recall what sort of person you are. I am certain that you wrote to me in hope of some great reward for doing this basic kindness for my kin. So out with it! What do you want from me? More land? A greater title?"

"I did not write to you seeking a reward."

Delita snorted. "Of course not. But my sister tells me she wishes to marry you."

"Yes," Algus averted his eyes from Delita's terrifying scowl, "I was making preparations for our marriage the very day I learned that you still lived. I happened to overhear a conversation in a tavern which involved your name."

"You must think me a fool!" Delita howled. "I shall never believe that you planned to marry her _before _you knew I was a duke! You must have set out to seduce her when you learned there was money and status to be had from a match with her! I do not know how you have tricked her so thoroughly, but I will not be blinded to your nature."

"My lord, Delita. I am unsure what I can say to convince you. Only, as her brother, you must love her dearly. Is it so impossible for you to believe that I do as well? After I have had three years to come to know her?"

"Oh, I am certain you are able to _love_ her now, knowing the large dowry her husband must get from me!"

"I was planning to marry her with no dowry!" Algus exclaimed. His annoyance with Delita's scorn had finally outweighed his caution. "She and I have been happy together here! I wanted her for my wife!"

"Pretty lies," Delita scoffed.

"You wish to hear the truth from me?" Algus returned, "I hated to learn that you still lived! I knew you would steal her from me! But what could I do? Hide a duke's sister away from him forever? Hope neither of you ever learned the other still lived? I had no choice but to write to you."

Delita was surprised, not by the words, but by the emotion behind them. Algus, who had always been a shallow bastard, sounded like a man who was actually hurting.

"You were going to marry her with no dowry." Delita repeated, with a bit of a sarcastic bite.

"I am not lying to you, my lord." Algus said.

"Well, in that case," Delita said, after a pause to think, "I will make you two offers. You are free to choose either one."

Algus stared at him, wary.

Delita continued, "My first offer is thus: I will give you one hundred thousand gil as thanks for your safekeeping of my sister over these past years. And I believe you know I am now the chief advisor to Queen Ovelia? I will additionally arrange for her to make you a Knight."

Algus was stunned. That amount of money, combined with the sale of the manor, could buy him a small castle. And a knighthood would bring the prestige to the Sadalfas name that he had never managed to earn himself.

"However," Delita said, "tomorrow when I leave here, I will take Teta and your sister, Layla, along with me to live in Lesalia. I understand that Teta is fond of your sister and will wish to have her close when we go to court. I will arrange for Layla to have the best tutors in Lesalia, and to join Ovelia's ladies-in-waiting when she is old enough. You will not need to worry for her, she will have the finest life a young lady could hope for."

Algus' face was empty of emotion, though Delita examined him carefully for any reaction.

"Or," Delita added, "There is my second offer… In which I will allow you to marry Teta. In fact, I will travel to town myself, tomorrow, to see you wed immediately. But if you choose this, then you will have absolutely nothing else from me. Not a single gil. You will marry her with no dowry and no reward, as you _claim_ you were willing to do before. And you and she will continue to live here, as _squires_."

Algus was still blank, unspeaking.

"Do not pretend it is a difficult decision, just for my benefit," Delita sneered. "We both know you want the first offer. Simply accept it, and we will begin making arrangements. You do not need to play the part of the lovesick boy any longer. And I must hurry to get back to Lesalia. The queen needs me."

It was Algus' turn to stare hard at Delita. He took in the fine silk tunic, the over-done gold accessories and jewelry. The haughtiness and arrogance on his handsome face. The slight look of disgust, like he could not wait to be finished speaking to a man as lowly as Algus.

"I choose your second offer, then, my lord." Algus said firmly.

Delita reeled. "You jest."

"I will be pleased to marry Teta tomorrow. I hardly dared hope for the chance."

"But—You understood me, correct? All you will get is her? No money, no title?"

"Yes, _my lord_," Algus drawled, fighting to keep his temper in check. He was at least beginning to enjoy the shocked look on Delita's formerly smug face.

Delita clenched his fists at his sides and tried to regain his regal composure. He could not believe his ears. He would not believe that Algus' intentions were true. There was surely some trick here, and he had not spotted it yet.

"Fine," Delita spat out, "Then we leave at midmorning tomorrow to reach the town. You will be married by the first priest we find. I will witness Teta's wedding, but I do not have unlimited time to waste here. _You_ will tell her I have given my permission; I cannot bear to speak any longer on this foul topic. Of all the men my sister might have chosen..." Delita trailed off in disgust.

Algus strove to remain formal in the face of the duke's insults. "I hope to win your approval in time, my lord," he replied.

"One more thing, Algus," Delita said. Lightning fast, he swung around and smashed his fist into Algus' solar plexus. Algus crumpled to the floor, clutching his gut. His breath had been completely knocked out of him by the sucker punch. Delita followed with a vicious kick to the same area. Algus lay helplessly gasping, fighting to get even the smallest bit of air into his lungs.

"That is the least of what I owe you, for shooting your bolt at her at Fort Ziekden," Delita said imperiously. "I would do far worse, were it not for her request that I leave you unharmed." He turned and strode from the room.

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Delita enjoyed his dinner that night, with his sister and his men, in the formal dining chamber of the Sadalfas manor. He met Layla, the charming little girl his sister had practically adopted. Algus, of course, was also there, but Delita tried his best to pretend he was not. Teta was all smiles toward Delita over dinner, so he assumed Algus had at least had the dignity to not snitch to his sister that Delita had punched him earlier. He grudgingly admitted to himself that Algus had always been a tough soldier in battle; he was not one to whine about a small injury.

Delita had had a chance to speak privately with Sir Piers as well, and Piers reported that during the three days he had spent in the manor, Teta had seemed well-treated and happy. Surprisingly, Piers had actually enjoyed his morning hunting with Algus. Delita had hoped Piers might have some disparaging information about Algus' character, enough that he could cancel his sister's wedding to the man, but Piers instead said the lord of this manor was a pleasant fellow who ran his estate with care and attention to detail. Delita felt like he was living in some parallel universe. Algus? Pleasant?

When Algus rather shyly announced to the knights that he and Teta were to be wed tomorrow, Piers and the others cheered merrily and toasted to the happy pair. Delita only managed to raise his glass halfway up for the toast, while fighting the bitter expression that wanted to overtake his face.

That evening, well after he had bid goodnight to the men of his retinue, Delita heard a soft knock on the door of his guest chamber. He opened it to find Teta juggling two bottles of wine and two cups in her arms.

"How did you even knock on the door? With your forehead?" he asked with a chuckle, taking the bottles out of her hands.

"I used my elbow," Teta admitted, with a laugh of her own.

"What brings you here, Teta?"

"Algus told me you are not able to stay with us beyond tomorrow. If that is true, then you and I must fit three years' worth of chatter into one evening, I fear. I will not waste a minute of your visit!"

In a burst of happy affection, she hugged him again.

"My sweet sister," Delita said, dropping a kiss onto her hair. He was pleased that Teta had not yet spoken further to him of her impending wedding. He did not wish to think any longer about her marrying a man he hated.

Teta began to pick at the wax seal of one of the wine bottles. "There is still much I wish to ask you," Teta said. "You know, not enough news reaches us here, this far from the major cities."

"You will have me gossip like a woman, then," he smiled. "Anything for you, I suppose. What would you like to know?"

She poured into both of their cups and handed one to Delita. The guest chamber had only one chair, so she settled herself into a seated position on the floor. She was surprised when Delita ignored the chair and sat across from her on the floor, as well.

"I must admit, I am terribly curious whether you know anything of what happened to Alma and Ramza," Teta said. "They were good friends to me once. I have heard that the Church has named them as heretics; but still, I pray they are safe."

A faint smile touched his lips. "I must warn you to be careful on this subject. In private, you may always be honest with me, but when you speak to anyone else, you must not admit affection for either Alma or Ramza. The Church does indeed still hunt them, and they do not hesitate to name any known friends of Ramza as heretics, as well."

Teta's eyes widened. "I did not know that."

"The world is cruel, Teta. One wrong phrase to the wrong person can put your neck on the chopping block. But I am doing all that I can to make things better. Ah, and to answer your question, I have, in fact, seen Ramza a few times since we parted ways at Fort Ziekden."

"So, he lives!" Teta exclaimed.

"_That_ I do not know. And everything I say to you here is confidential, you must not share it with anyone. Even as a duke, I could be put in danger if it became known that I was well-acquainted with a heretic."

"I would never betray your confidence, Delita. I hope you know that."

"You cannot even tell your husband-to-be. Gods, _especially_ not him."

Teta rolled her eyes at him. "As you wish, brother. But, really, he is not so bad as you think."

Delita could not help diving back in to the argument. "Oh, truly? Has he yet told you his delightful views on commoners? I cannot quite grasp how any woman would wish to marry a man who believes she is an _animal_, based on her birth to commoners!"

Teta gave a long-suffering sigh. "Delita, I am well-aware of the types of things he used to say. But, you know, people grow up. They learn. He has faced as many difficulties during the war as any other man. We were all practically children the last time you knew him. Have _you _not changed in the past three years? I promise you, I have seen him gain some humility in the time I have lived here. I do not claim he is perfect, but he no longer rants about commoners. It would be rather strange if he did, since he is choosing to marry one!"

"I am still not at peace with this, Teta. You have always been too kind. I fear he is deceiving you in some way," Delita glowered.

Teta gave him a stubborn look to match his own. "Anyway," she said, "let us return to the subject at hand. Please. What _do _you know of Ramza? You said you are unsure if he lives?"

Delita nodded. "I last saw him only a few weeks before he disappeared for good. He was at prayer inside Zeltennia church. Can you believe that? A wanted heretic! Just casually praying in a church. He always was the bravest fool."

"Was Alma with him?"

"No. He claimed that Alma had been kidnapped by Lord Vormav Tingel. I do not know whether that part of his story, at least, was true. Ramza had some very strange tales to tell. He spoke of stones that turned men into monsters, and he claimed that Lord Vormav was one of these monsters. In truth, Teta, I worried that his mind was bent. He spoke with clarity, but some of the things he said were mad. He wanted my help to destroy the monster-men."

"Well," Teta said slowly, "If he still chose to pray to the gods, then perhaps he had not actually become evil. Perhaps it was a mistake that he was named a heretic."

"Oh, Teta," Delita laughed softly, "Ramza is not evil. It is the Church that is twisted and corrupt. They named Ramza a heretic because he disobeyed their officials, not because he actually did anything against the gods."

Teta stared at him in shock. She had never heard anyone speak a single word against the Church in her entire life.

"I assure you, Teta, I myself have performed far darker deeds to get where I am now. Far worse acts than anything Ramza ever did. Deeds I will never share with you, or with anyone else. Yet the Church applauds me, and supports my rise to power."

"I will never believe there is evil in you, Delita, no matter what you claim. War makes all men do terrible deeds. It does not speak to your true character."

"…Sometimes I wonder. I am not the same man as when I served the Beoulves."

"So, did Ramza find Lord Vormav, at least?"

"I believe he may have. I am sure you have heard that toward the end of the war, strange battles began to occur. Entire castles full of dead men, with no survivors to explain what happened. Some noblemen went missing, with no ransom notes, never to be seen again. You must be aware that the Lord of your region, the Marquis Elmdor, was one of these. His castle is now held by Ovelia, until she awards it to a new lord. No one knows what happened to Elmdor, and his heirs were found dead among the bodies in Limberry Castle. Frankly, Algus was lucky he was out in the field for Elmdor, or he would have been part of that carnage, I am sure. Oh, and Lord Vormav Tingel was another to go missing, not long after."

Teta nodded. "Yes, we heard about that as well."

"Vormav's son, Izlude, died in one of the strange slaughters. His daughter, Meliadoul, is one of the missing. One of my spies reported that he saw a man who matched Ramza's appearance, along with a team of traveling companions, at a nearby tavern shortly before Lord Vormav disappeared. It makes me wonder if Ramza had something to do with the disappearances. It is all inexplicable. Almost enough to make one believe Ramza's tales of powerful monsters. But, to my knowledge, no one has seen or heard from Ramza since Vormav's disappearance."

"And nothing of Alma, either?"

"Nothing at all. I expect they are both dead, Teta. Believe me, I am sorry to say it. But I have spies placed throughout the country, and I believe if either Ramza or Alma still lived, I would have heard something of it by now."

Teta was silent in thought for a moment. "Well," she said, "Those same spies never caught word of _me _living _here_. Perhaps Ramza and Alma are hidden out in the country, like me. Or perhaps they have left Ivalice altogether."

"I suppose it does not hurt to have hope," Delita said, though he sounded doubtful.

"Tell me," Teta said, "how is it that you have spies everywhere? I know you are a duke now, but I believe even Dycedarg did not have the money to pay a horde of spies when he was the duke in Igros."

Delita looked torn about how to answer for a moment. "Well… the crown pays for my spies, among other things."

"The crown?"

"Ovelia gives me whatever funds are needed, yes. Again, this is information I need you to keep to yourself. The jealous courtiers would be outraged to learn that fact."

"Delita, I think you have not been _completely _forthcoming with me about your relationship with the queen?" Teta queried, with raised eyebrows.

A small grin quirked at the corners of Delita's lips. "Perhaps I have not. But I shall say no more on the subject tonight."

00000

_A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Now I'm estimating there will be two more chapters before this story is complete._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The chapel used for Algus and Teta's wedding was comically shabby in comparison to the occupants. Teta, Algus, Delita, Layla, Sir Piers, and the four Knights of Delita's entourage stood in gleaming armor, rich silks, elaborate lace, and golden jewelry. But Delita had not been jesting when he told Algus he would be wed in the first available location. This turned out to be a cramped and rather filthy chapel used by the common folk in the small nearby town. The priest's robes had seen better days; the once white-and-red fabric was now more of a dirty gray with faded brownish-pink decoration. The priest had at first insisted that his schedule for the day was full, and he could not conduct a marriage ceremony on the spur of the moment. But Delita had dropped a bag of coins into the man's hand, as well as mentioned his own title quite loudly, and the priest had quickly changed his tune.

Now here they stood, along with a handful of curious townsfolk who had stayed in the chapel to witness the impromptu marriage of the fine-looking lord and lady. Teta and Algus had just taken their places at the altar, and the priest had begun to speak.

Delita stared at the pair with resignation. It did not look like Algus was going to back out of the marriage.

_If you can even call it a proper marriage, _Delita thought, suddenly enraged again, _when Algus has already bedded her._

Truthfully, this upset Delita a great deal not only because he felt his sister had been ill-used, but because it made him ashamed of his own behavior. He felt slightly guilty for being in a similar situation with Ovelia. He recalled in exquisite detail the first time his own morality had been put to the test:

He had taken Princess Ovelia away from Lionel castle, after Ramza had foolishly handed the girl over to Cardinal Draclau. He and Ovelia were traveling alone together, by woods and backroads only, in a desperate march to deliver her safely to Goltana and his forces. Their fear was palpable. They had to do whatever they could to remain unseen on their travels. Any man they crossed paths with might be an assassin sent by Larg to ensure that Ovelia could never be a rival to Prince Orinas for the throne.

And then, one day, assassins did attack them. They were ambushed by three men, and although Delita was more than a match for them, it still shook both him and Ovelia to the core. Delita had been able to kill those three. But he had needed assistance from Ovelia… had she not beaten one of the men away with her staff, the man might have succeeded in stabbing her before Delita could intervene. What if the next time they were caught, it was five men attacking? Or ten? For the rest of their march that day, Delita had tried to remain optimistic. He remarked to Ovelia that killing those knaves had been like swatting flies. If that was the best Larg could send, then they had nothing to worry about. But Ovelia's face had remained drawn with worry, her lips clenched and white. She hardly spoke in return.

Sitting around their small campfire deep in the woods that night, Ovelia at last broke her silence.

"We are never going to make it to Goltana's camp," she said quietly.

"Come now, do not be afraid," Delita replied. "It was dumb luck that they found us today, and they will not be so lucky again. We are well-hidden."

"We almost died today. And it was only three men. Next time, Larg will send a larger group. I know it. You think I am ignorant, having been hidden behind convent walls all my life, but I am not a fool, Sir Delita! We are not going to come out of these woods alive… and it is _me_ they are after. You would be better off leaving me here, and going your separate path. If I am to die either way, then you might as well try to save yourself!"

"No!" Delita moved so that he knelt in front of her, and gripped her shoulders. "I would never do that. I would never be so cowardly. If you die, then it will be because I fell first, defending you! I can promise you that much."

Ovelia stared hard at him with tear-filled eyes, and then she dived into him, pressing her lips hard against his in a clumsy but passionate kiss. The force of it knocked Delita backward so that he was sitting on his ass. Ovelia eagerly climbed into his lap, not even breaking their kiss, with her hands clutching the back of his head. Delita's arms had made their way around her body, and he had slid his tongue inside her hungry mouth before he even realized what he was doing. Ovelia only stopped kissing him when she needed to come up for air.

"I should not have let that happen, Princess," Delita panted.

Still sitting in his lap, Ovelia gave him a dark look that simultaneously disturbed him and made him more aroused. "My name is Ovelia. There is no sense in calling me 'princess' when that very title is the reason we shall both soon be dead."

"We will not die," he murmured.

"We will." She kissed him again, desperately, and he did not stop her.

"Ovelia," he sighed lustfully. "You should not do this. You know that this is unfit behavior for a princess."

She huffed. "Does it truly matter? I will be a _dead_ princess soon." She buried her face in his neck. "Delita, I… I want you to take me the way a husband takes his wife. I do not want to die without –" her breath hitched as she fought back a sudden sob, "without ever being loved by a man. At least let me have _that_ before I meet my fate."

"Oh gods," Delita groaned, wiping beading sweat from his forehead. "Ovelia, I _want_ to, believe me. But I will not. It would be disrespectful to your station."

Ovelia pointedly looked down at the bulge straining the crotch of his trousers. "You will not? So, you do not desire me?"

Delita laughed nervously. "I do desire you. I think you are the prettiest girl I have ever seen. But I must resist you… though right now you make it nearly impossible."

Ovelia slowly climbed off of his lap. "I want to make it fully impossible," she whispered. She stood up, just a few feet away from him and their flickering campfire. She began to unbind her wheat-gold hair from its braid. She let it fall loose and heavy around her shoulders. Her hands next went to the laces at the front of her gown. Her fingers were trembling, but she steadfastly picked at the knot that held her outer dress closed.

"Ovelia…" Delita murmured.

Ovelia slid her gown down her arms and then shimmied it down over her hips, until it fell to the ground around her feet. Delita stared up at her in her embroidered and lace-trimmed under shift. Why wasn't he stopping this? He couldn't make his voice work, or perhaps he just did not want to. Ovelia loosened the drawstring at the collar of her shift, and began to slide that down her body as well. She paused for a moment, clutching the fabric to her chest, before she slowly let the shift fall to the ground as well. Her thick hair was so long; it reached nearly down to her thighs. She now stood clothed in only her golden hair draped down the front of her body, and her panties. Taking a deep breath, and staring at Delita, she used both of her hands to slide her hair away and down her back, exposing her breasts to him, the firelight bathing her body in a golden glow. As if that were not enough, she abruptly bent to slide her panties down and off. As she again stood, she blushed shyly and gave him a small closed-mouth smile.

Delita's mouth was agape. He unlaced his trousers as fast as he could. He took his cock firmly in his hand and squeezed it. He could not avert his eyes from her display of herself. Her small breasts were firm and high, and her pink nipples were hard from the cool evening air. Her hips were full and wide-set, around the thatch of hair at her cleft. Her shape was so _lush_.

"Will you take me now, Delita?" she asked. She unconsciously moved her shoulders a bit, so that her golden hair once again fell to cover her like a blanket.

"Lift your hair up," Delita demanded, "Let me look at you a while longer."

Ovelia gathered her thick hair and held the mass of it cupped at the back of her head. "I will do whatever you want me to," she told him earnestly.

Delita moaned. Ovelia watched him rub his hard manhood, with obvious interest. Delita could not believe that a princess was offering herself to him, nay, practically begging him to take her.

"Turn around, then, let me see the back of you," Delita ordered, wondering if she truly would be as submissive to him as she claimed.

Hands still holding her hair up on her head, Ovelia did as instructed. Her bottom was full and round, like her hips. His hands wanted very badly to squeeze her ass cheeks, but he did not move yet.

Delita was thrilled at his sudden power. This person, who might be the future ruler of their country, was at this moment willingly under his control. It satisfied something deep within him, temporarily fixed that feeling of powerlessness he had suffered from since living under the thumb of the Beoulves. He wanted to exercise this newfound control a bit more, before he worried about Ovelia's desires. "You have a beautiful body," he said to her.

She turned her head to look back at him as best she could, without turning around. "Won't you touch me?" she asked.

"Turn back to face me again, Ovelia. Let me see you touch yourself."

"How do you mean?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Rub your hands over your breasts. Touch them the way you would like me to touch them."

Watching Ovelia comply, squeezing herself, rubbing and pinching her own nipples, tested every last bit of Delita's willpower. She was breathing heavily, and from his seat on the ground in front of her, he could see that the wispy hair between her legs was damp from her arousal.

Delita smiled and stood up. "Now get down on your hands and knees, Ovelia."

Ovelia stared at his hard cock, which she could see in its full glory while he was standing rather than sitting. Delita thought she liked what she saw. She looked like she was thinking about arguing with him, though.

"You want me to get on my hands and knees on the ground?" she asked.

"You said you would do whatever I want. Have you lost your willingness?" he replied.

"I just want you to touch me," she said, "but you haven't. And this feels… humiliating, Delita. Like you are mocking me."

"I am not mocking you. Get down, and then I'll touch you."

"Delita…"

"Do as I say."

She lowered herself to her hands and knees, and Delita crowed inwardly. Utterly under his control.

He caressed her in a long line from the nape of her neck down to her lower back, and she shuddered with pleasure.

"Actually, I want you to lower down onto your elbows," Delita said. He moved behind her as she did so. He sat down behind her feet.

"Now just spread your knees a bit wider," he crooned to her. He put one hand on the curve of her bottom, and the other on her lower back, and gently pushing, he tilted her hips up so that her sex was fully exposed to him. He admired her as she patiently held herself as he had ordered.

"Good girl," Delita said. "Showing me all of you."

Ovelia whimpered.

He still did not yet touch her. "It looks like you've gotten nice and wet for me."

"Please, Delita," she begged, her face resting on her hands.

"You want me to touch your pretty maidenhood now?"

She responded with only a frustrated moan.

"Tell me you belong to me, and I will give you what you want."

"I am yours, Delita."

"You belong to me?"

"I belong to you."

"You will do whatever I tell you?"

"Yes. Yes, I will!"

"Then I will make you mine, Ovelia," Delita said. He slid his hand between her legs, where she was soaking wet, and he rubbed her, making her cry out in bliss and explode with pleasure only a moment later. He thrust his finger inside her, feeling her trembling orgasm. Before the pulsing of her pleasure had even finished, he flipped her over with his strong arms, careful to keep his hand behind her head to cushion it from hitting the ground. Face to face, he shoved his aching hard manhood inside her, and she shrieked in pain.

Delita had already been hard for far too long, he could not last inside her at this point. He gave her only three hard thrusts with his cock, enough at least to break her maidenhead, before he had to withdraw himself. His seed spilled out onto her belly in thick white streams. Her maiden's blood was on his shaft. Ovelia stared up at him in shock.

"I would have liked to make that last longer," Delita admitted to her, sheepishly.

Ovelia seemed at a loss for words. "It hurt more than I expected," she said, after a moment.

"I am sorry. It should not hurt next time."

"Delita… I had not imagined that making love would be quite, well… quite like that," Ovelia said tentatively. "I thought there would be more touching, and kissing, I suppose."

Delita used a rag from his pack to clean up some of the mess from their bodies. Then he took Ovelia in his arms and cradled her head against his shoulder.

"Next time, there will be. I promise you, Ovelia. I want to make you happy."

Later in the same night, Delita took Ovelia again. This time he tried to be more considerate. He spent a long time kissing her mouth, her neck, her breasts, before he mounted her. He spent what felt like hours on top of her, feeling he had something to prove after his previous quick-draw. But when he did finish, he again pulled out of her first. He might be bold enough to deflower a princess, but he was not fool enough to impregnate one.

Curled against him afterward, Ovelia sleepily murmured into his skin, "I love you, Delita."

"I love you, Ovelia," Delita replied.

He did not know if he meant it. Lying came as easily as breathing these days. He knew that he felt honor-bound to protect her. But he had not felt love for a long time, and he was not sure if he ever would again.

00000

Standing in the church, wondering why in hell Algus was choosing to marry Teta, Delita was suddenly stricken with the idea that Algus might possess some form of kindness which Delita himself lacked. It did not feel good. Algus was everything that had ever been despicable to him. It made him feel… shrunken, somehow, to think that Algus might be better than him in any way. But here Algus stood, marrying a girl for love and nothing else. Delita knew, deep down, that he himself would not marry Ovelia if the marriage brought him no increase in money or political advantage. It was a fact he usually chose not to focus on, but it felt impossible to ignore at the moment.

The priest finished his monotone speech, the hastily gathered choir boys sang a song, and Teta and Algus each recited their vows. That easily, they were married. Teta was pink-cheeked with emotion, and Algus looked like he was fighting to remain solemn and not smile hugely. They certainly looked like two people in love. Delita was not sure how to feel about it. But he decided to put aside his animosity toward Algus, at least for now, as he did not wish to darken his sister's happiness on her wedding day.

On the way out of the chapel, Delita addressed the newly married couple. "I have decided it will be acceptable for me to remain here in Limberry for one more night, if you are willing to continue to host me, Algus. Perhaps we can arrange a wedding feast of sorts at your home this evening?"

"Certainly, my lord," Algus replied, with a look of confusion.

"Delita, that is wonderful!" Teta cried. She was so pleased to hear Delita soften, even a tiny little bit, toward her husband. She felt like the happiest girl on the planet today. She had never imagined that her life could come together this well. Looking around at her handsome new husband, and Layla, her adopted daughter of sorts, as well as Delita, the brother she once thought she had lost, now alive and well, she felt her heart could burst with joy.

00000

The following morning saw a very satisfied Lady Teta Sadalfas eating her breakfast porridge, sitting with Algus, Delita, and Layla at the small dining table used for only family. She and Algus had not slept much the previous night, and she was feeling sore in random places now (she imagined he probably was as well), but it had been more than worth the loss of sleep.

Algus himself wore an uncharacteristically chipper grin through most of breakfast. He was surprised and pleased that everything had gone so smoothly the day before. He had somehow managed to hold on to the girl he loved, despite what he had seen as impossible odds. And Delita, the duke of Igros, despite having punched and kicked him just two days ago, seemed to have warmed up ever so slightly to him.

The previous night at their dinner feast, Algus and Delita had finally attempted to converse with each other in a non-threatening manner. They had each had two or three cups of ale already, and the alcohol seemed to help them drop their guards.

After a minute of small talk, on a merry whim induced by drinking, Algus decided to ask Delita something he had always sort of wondered. "Tell me," he said, "Did Ramza ever actually _realize _that all the ladies in Igros castle were lusting after him?"

Delita sputtered, choking on a sip of his ale for a moment, before he burst out in a loud belly laugh.

"I've not thought of that in years!" Delita laughed, red-faced and wiping at his eye. "No, no I do not think he did. Gods, there was this Countess…"

For a moment it seemed Delita might not continue his story, as if it had just occurred to him that he did not want to be friendly with Algus. But with another sip of his drink, he did continue.

"This Countess, lady Malin, was good friends with Lord Dycedarg's mistress, and she used to come to stay at Igros castle all the time. And Malin wanted Ramza like, I do not know, like I have never wanted _anything_. She tried so hard to get his attention. She once—" Delita was suddenly giggling like a girl at the memory, and it took him a moment to compose himself. "She once pretended to _faint _right in front of Ramza. I was there too, in the hallway, I saw it all! I think she expected Ramza to catch her, but he was distracted, so she had to just fall on the floor. And then, when she asked Ramza to walk her back to her rooms since she 'was not feeling well', Ramza simply pulled a Potion out of his pack, and told her that would surely make her feel better. Then he left! She looked furious!" Delita cackled.

Algus shook his head, and chuckled.

Over breakfast the next morning, Algus was feeling glad that Delita had extended an olive branch to him for a moment. Delita may not be willing to give him a dowry or arrange for him to have a greater title, but Delita was in fact a duke, and it would raise Algus' standing simply to have a duke for a brother-in-law. It was important to at least be on good terms with him.

When he finished eating his breakfast, Delita cleared his throat and said, "Algus, I wish to have a moment to speak to my sister alone before I leave."

Algus did not like feeling 'dismissed' by Delita, but still, he nodded and began to escort Layla out of the room. On his way out, Algus thought to himself, regarding his arrogant brother-in-law: _you may have a lofty title and riches, but I took your sister three times last night, and you're miserable she chose to stay with me instead of leaving with you_.

When the door closed, Teta commented to Delita, "What do you need to say to me that you could not say in front of my husband? Do you still not trust him?"

"I do not think I will ever truly trust him, Teta," Delita said, "But I trust you, and it seems I must accept that he is my brother-in-law, for better or worse."

Teta smiled.

"That is actually what I must speak to you about. I suppose I _could _have included Algus in this conversation… but, gods, I just did not _want _to."

Teta rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Delita said. "I do not like him! There is not much I can do about that. But, listen! What I need to tell you is important, and you may tell it all to Algus after I leave."

"All right, I am listening!"

"So… I believe this may come as quite a shock to you, but… within the next couple of months, Ovelia and I will be married to each other."

Teta startled. "You… what?"

"Arrangements for our wedding are already underway, though we have been careful about who knows and who does not. Some of the court are my allies, but there are others who would try to prevent a common-born man from sitting the throne, and our hope is that these courtiers will not learn of our wedding plans until it is too late for them to scheme to prevent it."

"You will be _king?_" Teta exclaimed.

Delita smiled quite smugly. "Yes. I will."

"How can this be? By the gods, Delita! You—Are you in love with queen Ovelia? I have never even met her yet! How long have you two planned this?"

"We have planned it since long before she made me duke of Gallione. Granting me that title was the first step to making me her king. I could not jump from 'baron' to 'king' without raising too much ire from the nobility. But the time for our wedding now draws near."

"So, you are in love with her?" Teta repeated.

"I—I care for her deeply. I am all she has, really, with the rest of her family dead."

Teta stared at him inquiringly. She noticed he had not really answered her question. Her silence finally drew more honesty from him.

"I am not certain whether I love her," Delita admitted sheepishly. "When I lost you, I swore I would never love another person."

"That was a foolish vow to make!" Teta exclaimed, "And you had not really lost me, after all! Do you not think Ovelia deserves to marry a man who loves her?"

"She does deserve that. You are right, Teta, and I will try harder to be what she deserves. But honestly, I did not start this conversation to talk about love. We need to discuss the politics of the matter. I will soon hold the highest position in this country, and the king's family must not be an embarrassment to him. Any family members of mine must also be powerful allies, and so I cannot allow my only sister to remain the wife of a lowly squire. My enemies would use that fact to add to their argument that I am not fit to sit the throne."

Teta did not immediately understand where Delita was going with this, and for a moment she felt panicked that he meant to take her away from Algus even though they were married.

"What I mean to say is, even though I said I would not grant you and Algus any favors, I really must improve your circumstances, if only to improve my own. I had rather hoped he would not go through with marrying you. I did not wish to help him, and I must confess, I could not bear to tell him this face-to-face now that he has married you. But when I return to Lesalia, I will immediately arrange for Algus to be made the new Marquis of Limberry. 'Marquis' will be a high enough title that no one will scoff at me for having 'commoners' for my sister and brother-in-law."

Teta's jaw had dropped slightly as Delita spoke. She and Algus would become the Marchioness and Marquis of the region. Delita said it as if it were only a trifling thing, but… this was huge! This was more than either of them could have dreamed of! Algus had used to _serve_ the Marquis, and now he would… _be _the Marquis?!

"So," Delita continued, "you can expect that in a couple of weeks, I shall send servants to assist you both with moving in to Limberry castle and taking over your new title."

"Delita… thank you! I know you claim you do this only because it is necessary to you, but you have no idea what this means to me… or to Algus. All his life, he has wanted so badly to fix his family's reputation, after what his grandfather did to ruin it. He will be so grateful to you, as I am."

Delita grinned. "I care nothing for his gratitude, but I am very pleased to be able to make _you_ happy. You know that your happiness will always matter to me, Teta. You are my only family."

"As your happiness will always matter to me, Delita. I love you. And I hope that your marriage will be happy, and you will learn to love your wife as much as you should. I had been planning to ask if you could stay here with us a bit longer, after all, but now I understand your urgency to return to Lesalia! Do you think I will get to meet Ovelia before your wedding?"

"I hope you will," Delita said. "We will see how much time there is. I do not believe she will be able to travel to Limberry, but perhaps you could come to Lesalia for a couple of weeks."

"I would like that!" Teta said.

Delita stood, and Teta copied him. Delita walked around the table and gripped Teta's shoulders. "Promise me," he said seriously, "That you will keep your husband loyal to me, once he has his title and power from me. Keep him loyal, and you will always have the support of the king. And I will rest easier on my throne, knowing that I have faithful allies, _family,_ in the east."

"Of course, I promise. We would never betray you."

"I know. I do."

After one last hug, Delita told Teta that he really must gather his men and leave. Teta stood by the breakfast table, still a bit stunned, after Delita departed the room. She could not wait to tell Algus all of this, and see the look on his face! This would be the wedding gift of the century.

00000

_A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that impromptu journey into Delita-and-Ovelia land. I prefer writing Algus and Teta's characters, but figured I'd try to get in Delita's manipulative head for once. Thanks for your review, warzonecall! I think you're right that I should write more about how Teta ended up with Algus. There's one more chapter to go to finish up this story (and the next chapter has an appearance from a character you may not expect!) But after I write that chapter, I may add some "bonus chapters" here to explore Teta and Algus' relationship first developing :)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

_Epilogue_

It was early-October, but still unseasonably warm. Teta asked one of Layla's nannies to open Layla's bedroom windows to let in a breeze before bed. Layla's new chambers were enormous, compared to the nursery room she had previously occupied at the modest Sadalfas manor. But they still felt a bit too stuffy at times, with the strange late summer they were experiencing. At least the worst of the heat wave had finally broken, in mid-September.

Teta and Algus were slowly adjusting to being the lady and lord of the magnificent Limberry Castle. She still could not believe she was a Marchioness. And Delita was now officially the king of Ivalice! Teta had not been able to attend his wedding or his coronation, after all. She had dearly wanted to, but there had simply been too many problems around her new home that required the immediate attention of the Lady of Limberry.

For example, Marquis Elmdor's late wife had been in charge of hiring workers and raising funding for the local orphanage. This duty had fallen to Teta, once she assumed the title of Marchioness of the region. And there were more orphans than ever before, after years of war. The orphanage had been in terrible condition, with no great lord or lady living nearby to ensure that things were done properly. Teta suspected some of the staff had been stealing the money the Crown had sent each month to support the facility. Things were slowly improving, with her sharp supervision.

And that duty was on top of everything else she needed to do around the castle. Limberry was, quite frankly, a wreck, after the war and the strange slaughter that had killed everyone in the castle. The castle had been operating with only a skeleton-crew of staff paid by the crown, ever since Marquis Elmdor disappeared. She and Algus had needed to hire a great many servants, to get the castle fully staffed and operating again. The townsfolk and villagers were glad for the jobs, as times were still very hard. Luckily, Delita and Ovelia had gifted her a large sum of money to get started with the recovery. She and Algus had allowed Cook and Tom (who, thankfully, had agreed to follow them to Limberry castle) to choose the staff for the kitchens and stables at their discretion.

Teta herself had interviewed and chosen the women who would serve as the nannies and governesses to Layla, and any future noble children who lived in the castle. She had also hired three disenfranchised women of the lesser nobility to serve as her personal maids and companions.

When word got out that Limberry Castle had a new lord, and would begin to function as normal, many out-of-work Knights had traveled there, to offer their services to Marquis Sadalfas. Even some of the local noble families had begun to send their children, to squire or apprentice, at the castle. A twelve-year-old girl, who was the daughter of a local squire, had recently been deposited on Teta's doorstep, along with a small purse of gold to pay for her education at the castle. Teta knew that more noble girls would arrive over the next few years, to learn the art of being the _Lady_ of a great household, at the instruction of the Marchioness. It felt surreal. Teta wondered what her cruel former classmates in Igros would think, to know that she was this important now.

Algus was _thriving_ in his new role as Marquis. It made Teta happy to see. He loved keeping the large castle running in an orderly fashion. He loved training each day with the knights and squires who had come to serve in his home.

He was still curmudgeonly at times… and guarded… and suspicious of most new people he met. But he had actually managed to make a few friends, among the knights. And the squires seemed to genuinely look up to him, as a skilled swordsman and a generous teacher. Teta was proud of Algus, for so many reasons now.

Teta herself was doing her best to rise to the challenge of her new role. At times, she missed the quiet peace of the Sadalfas manor, where they had lived as simple squires. Sometimes, when multiple servants were popping up to ask her opinion on a thousand issues, for hours on end, she wanted to run screaming from the castle, to find a quieter place. But she bore it. She knew how lucky she was to have this life.

Teta also missed having a bigger role in Layla's education. She had wanted to remain the primary governess of Layla, but she had quickly learned that she had too many other responsibilities for that to be possible. Still, she made sure that she always spent time with the little girl in the morning and the evening, and tucked her in to bed each night.

She had just finished tucking Layla in, and the sun was getting close to the horizon. Teta made her way to her own sitting room, where she planned to put her feet up and chat with one of her ladies-in-waiting, to unwind from her long day.

As she sat down, Algus walked into the room, still wearing the padded armor they used for training. He was covered in sweat and dirt, even his golden hair was matted to his head. He looked good enough to eat, Teta thought.

Algus leaned down and kissed her on her mouth, giving her a genuine smile afterward. Teta's companion, Lady Tessa, turned her head and pretended not to see the intimate moment.

"You look like you were knocked down a few times," Teta commented, eyeing the dirt all over his clothing.

"Not more times than I knocked others down, at least," he said wryly. "But I am badly in need of a bath, yes."

He gave her a lingering look, which she knew meant that he could not wait until they were alone in bed later. The daily swordplay had seemed to magnify Algus' lust for her each night. She did not at all mind that the extra exercise had that effect on him. She had to admit that watching the men fight each other sometimes had a forceful effect on _her _desires, and she was not even the one getting the exercise!

Once Algus was out of the room, Teta asked Lady Tessa if she ever felt that way about watching the sword fights. Tessa laughed, and replied in the affirmative.

Teta really liked having Tessa around. Tessa was a war widow, who had been married to one of the knights who had died in the slaughter at Limberry Castle. She was open and funny, and even bawdy at times. It was nice to have a girlfriend again. She also liked that Tessa was not terribly materialistic, as most of the noble girls back at Igros had been. Teta had originally thought that as a Marchioness, she would be ordering lovely new gowns and jewels on a regular basis. But she had abandoned that idea the moment she saw the shabby orphanage, of which she was now in charge. It was hard to even consider spending money on a new gown, when she saw with her own eyes that so many children in her province were hardly getting enough to eat. She generally funneled her personal allowance into paying for extra food and clothing for the children. And she was happy continuing to wear the gowns that had once belonged to Algus' mother. They were good enough for now, even if they were a few years out of fashion.

Of course, if she ever did find time to visit the royal court in Lesalia, she would have to buy a few finer gowns for_ that_ trip. Delita would be furious if she showed up in court looking poorly. He wrote to her often, as she wrote to him. He seemed to be doing well, as far as holding on to his throne, so far, but he told her there were still members of the court who despised his low birth status, and plotted to replace him with someone born of the nobility.

Teta had even received a letter directly from Queen Ovelia, and this had become her greatest treasure, lately. She knew that it was a bit silly to feel moon-eyed over a letter from Ovelia, but she could not help it. The _queen_ had taken the time to write to _her_! She even carried the letter around in her pocket as she went about her day. It made her feel happy just to think about it.

Ovelia had written the normal pleasantries, of course, and expressed her greatest joy in learning that Delita's long-lost sister was, in fact, alive and well. She stated that she looked forward to meeting Teta, when circumstances would allow a visit.

Ovelia had also written that she was grateful for whatever Teta had said to Delita during their reunion. She wrote that Delita had returned to Lesalia as a changed man. He had seemed more at peace with himself, and he had begun to confide in Ovelia in a manner he never had before. Like a real husband. Ovelia thanked her for having such a positive influence on her brother.

Teta fairly glowed from receiving such praise from the queen.

Only about ten minutes after Algus had left Teta's sitting room, a boy who normally worked in the stables timidly stepped into the doorway.

"M'lady!" he said, doffing his cap to her, "I'm sorry to interrupt. But there's someone here who wishes to see you, and she asked me to give you this letter!"

Teta's brow furrowed. "Why did you not bring her here?"

The boy shook his head. "She won't come, m'lady! She's standing out by the stables. She said she would wait there while you read her letter."

"How strange," Teta commented. She unfolded the paper the boy had handed to her, and began to read:

_My dearest Teta,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. I should greatly like to speak with you in person, if you are able to meet me by the gate at your eastern stable. Please come alone. If I see that anyone else is with you, then I must flee. Time is short, and this will be my last chance to see you, my old friend. Yours always,_

_A Ruglia_

Teta gasped. She recalled that Ruglia had been the last name of Alma and Ramza's mother. Could this really be?

Teta thanked the stable boy, and told him to be on his way. After he departed, she quickly turned to Lady Tessa. "Tessa, I need you to do something for me!" she said urgently.

"What is it, my lady?"

"I need to meet with someone at the gate by the east stable. And I will need complete privacy for the meeting. If anyone comes looking for me, even my husband, will you please tell them that you think I am in the privy? That should stop anyone from coming to find me, at least for a bit."

Tessa looked concerned. "My lady, will this meeting put you in any danger? I cannot—"

"No!" Teta insisted, "I shall not be in any danger. I need to speak with an old friend. An… unpopular, old friend. Please understand. Will you do as I ask?"

Tessa reluctantly nodded. "I will."

Teta jumped up. She had to fight to walk at a normal pace as she left the castle, to avoid drawing any eyes to her. She wanted to race. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt dizzy during her walk to the easternmost edge of the property.

A figure that looked vaguely female was standing at the gate, as promised, wearing a nondescript brown hooded cloak. As Teta drew nearer, the hooded figure turned and began to walk away from the fence, crossing the field, headed toward the edge of the nearby woods. Teta fought to stop herself from breaking into a run. If any of the servants saw her running, they would probably follow her to check if anything was wrong. Teta went through the gate and began to walk across the field, keeping her eyes on the figure ahead. The cloaked person walked a few yards into the woods, then stopped.

Teta finally caught up, crossing into the tree line herself.

"Alma?" she hesitantly asked.

The hood was thrown back, revealing a mass of honey-blonde hair, with blunt bangs cut across the front.

"I am so happy you came!" Alma squealed, throwing her arms around Teta's neck. Teta threw her own arms around Alma, and they both jumped up and down excitedly as they hugged.

"I _knew _you had to be alive!" Teta shrieked, "I knew it! Delita swore you were dead, but I never listened!"

"I could say the same about you!" Alma exclaimed. "I nearly fainted when I heard you were living here!" Alma quickly sobered. "Um, Teta, it is not safe for me to stay this close to the castle. The church still seeks us. Would you mind walking further into the woods with me? Ramza is waiting back there, with our chocobos, in case we needed to make a quick escape. I had hoped you would come alone, but you understand, I could not be certain. Ramza could not even come to the gate with me to wait for you. His face is so well-known now from the heretic papers."

Teta's face lit up. "Ramza is alive as well? Yes! I would love to see him, too! Please, lead the way!"

Alma and Teta jogged together through the woods, as if they were young girls again. They eventually came to a fallen tree, which Ramza was using as a bench. Two chocobos grazed nearby.

Even now, even while _married _to someone she loved with all her heart, Teta felt her breath slightly knocked out of her at the sight of Ramza. There was just something about him. She had had the biggest crush on him, beginning around age twelve, while she lived at Igros castle. But she had never _ever _admitted it to Alma. Alma had really hated how all the noble girls had swooned over Ramza, and followed him around the castle like ducklings trailing after their mother duck. Teta had not wanted to annoy Alma by adding herself to the list of infatuated girls, so she had never spoken a word about her crush on the youngest Beoulve son.

But, by the gods, had he somehow gotten even better-looking over the past three years?

Teta was far shyer about greeting Ramza than she had been about greeting Alma. When she saw him, she stopped short, blushed, slightly hunched her shoulders, and awkwardly raised her hand in greeting.

Ramza smiled warmly. He stood, and briefly gave Teta a brotherly hug. He was so tall.

_Stop thinking about how tall he is, you idiot, you are a married woman!_ Teta chided herself.

"Teta, I am very glad to see you," Ramza said.

"I am glad to see you, as well, Ramza. I have missed you both, more than I can say."

"I must admit, I have some questions for you," Ramza said. He furrowed his brow over his deep brown eyes. Teta realized she had forgotten the beautiful contrast of his shaggy pale blond hair over his arched dark eyebrows. It should be against the law for a man to be that pretty. Teta did not feel guilty for drinking in the sight of him, this time, since she already knew this may be the last she ever saw of the Beoulves.

"I was, um, rather surprised. To hear of your choice of husband," Ramza said, clearly fighting hard to keep his facial expression pleasant.

Teta sighed, and put her hand to her forehead in exasperation. "I suppose you are as horrified as my brother was, to know that I married Algus."

A guilty smile slowly spread across Ramza's face.

"You should have heard him swearing, when we got the news!" Alma said brightly. "He thought Algus must have forced himself on you and gotten you with child, for you to marry _him_!"

"In my defense, I could not think of a single _other _reason why Teta would marry such a louse!" Ramza said.

"I shall tell you what I have told Delita a dozen times by now: Algus is not so bad anymore!" Teta exclaimed. "I chose him willingly. And I am not yet with child."

Ramza shook his head. "I _knew _Delita must be unhappy about it, as well," he said.

Teta was tired of all this scrutiny of her marriage. "Well, what about the two of you? I imagine it must be hard to find someone to marry while on the run for heresy, but have you managed it?"

Ramza chuckled.

"No such luck for me, I fear," Alma said. "But Ramza has… someone."

"Oh. Well, that is good, I suppose." Teta was already jealous of whoever the lucky woman was.

_No, no, no! You are MARRIED! _She reminded herself again. She could not believe just one new sighting of Ramza already had her schoolgirl crush back in action.

"Do you have some time to sit with us?" Ramza inquired. "There are some other things we wished to ask you, before we leave."

"Of course." Teta sat down on the fallen log, with Alma sitting to her right and Ramza sitting to her left. The setting sun was painting the sky a dark pink, through the tree branches. Alma took hold of Teta's hand, and held it companionably.

"But before you ask me anything further, I have some questions of my own!" Teta said. "What in the world _happened_ to you two? Delita told me you had a strange tale to tell when last he saw you, Ramza."

"Our tale is, indeed, strange," Ramza admitted.

He tried his best to fill her in on everything that had transpired since last she saw him, that horrible day at Fort Ziekden. Teta carefully kept her face blank when Ramza first mentioned the holy stones, and a man turning into a demon before his eyes. Ramza tried to give her the very briefest version of the story, but there was so much to tell, and Teta asked a lot of questions. He was not accustomed to talking so much, and Alma occasionally had to help fill in gaps he left in the tale.

While Ramza discussed their defeat of the Lucavi demon called Zalera, at the castle Teta now called home, Alma corrected him on a small detail.

"You were not even there!" Ramza exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yes, but Agrias told me about it," Alma said smugly. "She has a much better memory than you."

Ramza groaned, and then tried to continue his story, through Alma's frequent interruptions. He spoke with little emotion, as if the horrible things he described had happened to someone else. But Teta watched him as he spoke, and she started to notice little details she had missed at first. The worry lines around his eyes looked like those you would see on a man fifty years old, not twenty. On his head, there were already some strands of white hair speckled throughout the blond. His hands had a small tremor in them that never seemed to stop. He looked constantly on edge.

When Ramza spoke of fighting Ajora, his peaceful mask finally cracked. "We lost Cid," he said, his eyes suddenly shining wet. He had previously explained to her that Cidolfas Orlandu, the legendary warrior, who was also a former friend of Ramza's father, had joined them in their fight against the Lucavi. "He… Ajora had just cast a spell, she turned half of my soldiers into frogs. She started to fly toward us, and Cid rushed at her. He threw himself in her path, so we would have a moment to recover. I think he got his sword into her, but it did not really matter… She was so strong. She crushed him between her hands."

"I am so sorry," Teta said, grabbing Ramza's hand. She felt herself tearing up just from hearing his sadness. Their story was… insane, really. The rational part of her mind did not want to believe it, but her gut was telling her that Ramza and Alma were not lying to her. They _believed_ this all was true, whether it was or not. And their claims fit in with many things she knew to be facts, such as the hundreds of people found dead in Limberry Castle.

It was hard to imagine that Ramza and Alma could both lie to her in such a natural-sounding way. It was also hard to hear the things they said about Saint Ajora, whom Teta had prayed to for all of her life.

When Ramza finished his story, it was almost fully nighttime.

"So, now we plan to flee to Ordallia," Alma said. "They do not hold to the same Church system as Ivalice, so we should be safe there from our heresy charges."

"What will you do in Ordallia?" Teta asked.

"We have earned a sizeable fortune during our travels, and some of our friends plan to come with us," Ramza said. "We think we will buy a plot of land and set ourselves up as farmers. We should have enough hands to work the land, between us all."

"Do you really have to go?" Teta begged. "Delita has such influence now! If I spoke to him, then perhaps he could convince the Church to remove your charges? You could stay here at home!"

"That was actually something we hoped to discuss with you, Teta," Ramza said softly. "We wondered if it was possible that Delita would consider speaking on our behalf, to clear our names with the Church."

"We have no way to contact him safely, now that he is king. But we thought we could try to reach him through you," Alma added, "But even if you _can _help us, we _do_ have to leave. We cannot remain any longer in Ivalice while waiting to find out what Delita says. We have had too many close calls already."

"I really, truly, do believe that Delita would speak to the Church officials on your behalf. If he knew that you were alive, of course. He was certain you were both dead; he told me his spies had not spotted you since before your fight with Lord Vormav."

"We have been very careful to stay away from towns and cities, Ramza and I. We have been able to send our less-recognizable friends to buy food and supplies, when we need them," Alma explained.

"Then keep doing that!" Teta cried, "Do not leave Ivalice! I am certain that Delita can help you!"

Ramza shook his head sadly. "We cannot take that risk. I would like to stay in Ivalice, and I have hope that Delita can be trusted. But even if he can, these things take time. We could be caught, and burned at the stake, before Delita finishes the job. We will be safer in Ordallia."

"But if you go to Ordallia, then how will you even _know_ if your names become cleared here?" Teta said.

"We thought," Alma began, "that we would send one of our friends back to Ivalice once a year, to ask questions to see if there was any news." She paused. "Teta, if we told you something, something that would help you to find us, if you needed to, would you promise not to share it with anyone? Not even Delita, or your husband?"

"Yes. I do not believe either of them would use the information to harm you, but if you feel that you need my promise of silence, then you have it," Teta swore.

Alma looked at Ramza for a moment, and he nodded for her to continue. "So, we plan to travel to the very southernmost part of Ordallia. We want to settle near that trading port there," Alma explained, "and we plan to call ourselves by the names Alma and Ramza Orlandu, in honor of Cid. I know this is not terribly detailed, but if you ever wanted to send a messenger to let us know that it was safe to come back, then you might be successful if they know that much, and have the time to search for us."

Teta squeezed Alma's hand even tighter. They had been holding hands for so long now that their palms were drenched in sweat, but she did not care.

"If Delita succeeds in clearing your names with the Church, then I will send a messenger to find you, immediately," she promised. "And if he does not succeed… Well… could I still send the messenger, just to ask how you are faring?" Teta asked.

Ramza shook his head. "No, Teta. That could put us in danger, if anyone else knew our whereabouts, while we were still wanted in Ivalice."

Teta felt a sob forming in her throat. "But then I will never hear from either of you again, if Delita cannot do this!"

"Oh, Teta, please do not cry," Alma said, putting her arms around her again.

"But this is _not fair_! If what you say is true, then this whole country should be praising you as heroes! You should not have to be exiled to a foreign land!" Teta wailed.

Ramza awkwardly wrapped his arms around both Teta and Alma, and the three of them huddled together for a minute while Teta wept. Alma tried to keep her composure, but her own face was wet, and her shoulders were shaking, by the time they parted.

Ramza tried to offer comforting words. "I truly do not believe it will be so bad in Ordallia. I have met travelers from there, in the past. I think it will be an interesting adventure for us."

"I wish you did not have to go," Teta said tearfully.

It was truly dark outside now, and they could hardly see each other. Alma lit a lantern, and the three of them walked back to the edge of the woods, to return Teta home. Teta wondered if she would be able to sleep at all tonight, after hearing Ramza's stories of the monsters that had previously lived in the castle. _Marquis Elmdor an evil demon, flanked by the succubus sisters, Celia and Lede. _She shuddered.

Where the woods met the clearing, they stopped walking.

"Teta, I am glad to have seen you one last time, whatever happens next," Ramza said to her. He bent and kissed her forehead, saying goodbye.

Alma squeezed Teta's hands tight in her own. "I will miss you," Alma said.

"I will miss you, too," Teta replied, still trying to stop crying. "I missed you every day we were apart. I never found another friend quite like you."

Alma nodded. "Me too."

"This will not be the last time I ever see you! Delita will make this right," Teta insisted.

"I hope so, Teta."

They held each other again, and said their goodbyes.

Teta stood in the grassy clearing, watching the light from Alma's lantern bob back through the woods. She watched until the light disappeared.

Teta swiped at the tears that were still pouring down her cheeks, and then she turned toward the castle. She had much to do, letters to write. It looked like she would be arranging that visit to the royal city sooner, rather than later.

She would not fail them.

**The End**

_A/N: I hope you enjoyed this reunion with the Beoulves. It was certainly fun to write. I decided to leave the story a bit open-ended, as I felt it would be too wishful to simply write "Ovelia decided not to stab Delita because he told her the truth about all of his schemes (and that he had not, in fact, murdered Balmafula/Valmafra), and Ovelia decided to trust him again, and then Teta told Delita to clear the Beoulves names with the Church, and he did it easily, as king, and then the Beoulves came back and they all lived happily ever after." Haha. I mean, that's how I'd like it to end, but then, I'm already writing in an alternate universe where Teta didn't die at Fort Ziekden. So maybe I'm a bit of an optimist. To _Sab_: I am so glad you liked Algus Returns back in the day, and found this story now! I really wondered if any readers (besides me, haha) from 2008 would still be checking the site, that makes me so happy! To _Jess_: Thank you so much for your compliments, that means a lot to me! And yes, we have to do what we can to keep the FFT fandom alive, it's such an awesome world! I couldn't get the Teta/Algus pairing out of my head, back in 2008, after reading an extremely well-written fic called 'Cold' by DK on icybrian . com if you're interested. In that fic, Algus is essentially a psychopath, and it is not romantic at all, but there is a scene between Algus/Teta in that story that ended up inspiring Algus Returns. That fic really got me thinking how the two of them actually had a lot in 'common' (haha), and could possible be a good couple, given the right setting. If the author DK ever happens to see this story, I'd like to say thank you for writing 'Cold', because you inspired me a lot as a writer, and you probably hear some echoes of your story in 'Algus Returns,' as well as in this fic. To _warzonecall: _thank you so much for your review, you helped inspire me to keep writing, and develop how Teta and Algus' relationship began! I have been writing like crazy over the past couple weeks, and I've actually already finished writing rough drafts of SIX MORE CHAPTERS to add to this story as a prologue, to show how they ended up together in the first place! It is a lot like the other fic (Algus Returns), but with different events occurring to lead them to the same place. These chapters were fun to write, and I hope they will be fun to read (once I finish editing them), so please stay tuned!_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve **

_Prologue_

Teta Hyral was feeling optimistic today. She and the rest of the staff in the Sadalfas manor had received word that the so-called 'War of the Lions' was officially over. Ovelia had secured the throne. The armies, including the group in which Algus served, were disbanding and coming home. Considering that Tom had received a letter from Algus only a couple of weeks ago, they assumed that Algus was one of the survivors, and would arrive home any day now.

When they last spoke, Teta had told Algus that she prayed for his safety every day, and made sure that Layla, his five-year-old sister, prayed for him as well. She had not been just humoring him with this claim. She and Layla depended on Algus for their very way of life. If Algus died in battle, having no children or male siblings for his heir, then possession of the manor would go to one of his distant cousins.

And who knew what an unknown cousin would do with Teta and Layla? Teta might be dismissed from her job as Layla's governess, and Layla might be shipped off to become a nun in a convent, if the cousin did not wish to raise her. It was a terrifying thought for Teta. She may not be fond of Algus's personality, but it was definitely to her benefit that he was alive and well.

Teta was mulling over these thoughts as she dried a cooking pan with a rag, in the kitchen of the Sadalfas manor. The sun was just now setting, and it was almost fully dark. Teta had finished putting Layla to bed, and then she had walked down to the kitchen to see if Cook needed any help cleaning up the dinner pots and pans. She had been disappointed to see that _Heather_ was still in the kitchen with Cook when she arrived.

The Sadalfas manor was relatively modest in size and income, so they did not have many live-in servants. Cook and her husband, Tom, who was Algus's manservant, lived in comfortable rooms near the kitchen, but all the other servants who helped out on the estate lived on the nearby farms, and walked to work each day. Except for Teta, of course, who alone lived in one of the attic rooms that were meant to house multiple serving girls, in more prosperous times.

There were a few young boys who tended the chocobo stable for pay. The boys took turns staying overnight in the stable, to keep watch of the birds and raise the alarm if a thief was spotted on the property. There were also a few older women who were paid to come clean the manor a couple times per week. Girls who lived on the farms would be hired as-needed to serve food and drinks if Algus were ever to hold an event with other nobles at the estate. But it had been years since the Sadalfas manor had seen an event like that, since its master had been away at war.

Heather was a girl from one of the cottages on the farms around the estate. She worked in the manor for a few hours each evening, helping Cook to make the evening meal, and sometimes to clean up the kitchen. Heather also delivered fresh vegetables to Cook, and sometimes brought other things from the farms on an as-needed basis.

When Teta had first come to work in the Sadalfas household three years ago, at age fifteen, she had thought that she might make friends with thirteen-year-old Heather. Teta had come to the kitchen each evening to try to get to know Heather, thinking it was lucky that a girl near to her own age happened to work here.

Heather, however, had been wary of Teta from the start. She did not like Teta's voice, for one thing. Heather and the other commoners spoke quickly; they let their words sort of slur into one another. Teta enunciated every word carefully, as if she thought she were a noblewoman. When Heather asked her why she spoke that way, and Teta explained that she had been adopted by a noble family and raised in a duke's castle, while taught to speak like a noble…

Well. Heather had mostly felt jealous, and was not at all inclined to make friends. Despite Heather's coldness, Teta had kept trying. She was lonely. She wanted the friendship to work. One day she overheard Heather telling Cook about the boy she liked in the village. Teta had tried to join the conversation. Heather told Teta that she had kissed him three times now, and she thought he was going to invite her to the village dance next week. Heather had followed that up by asking how many boys Teta had ever kissed.

Teta had blushed. "None, actually," she admitted.

"What?" Heather had crowed, with wicked glee in her eyes, "None? Really, never? What's wrong with you, Teta? You are fifteen years old and you've never kissed a boy?"

Teta had not known what to say to that. After Heather left that day, Cook had tried to reassure Teta that it was nothing to be too embarrassed about. But she felt embarrassed anyway.

The next day, she found out from one of the cleaning women that Heather had told the whole village that Teta-Hyral-up-in-the-manor was arrogant, and such a strange girl that no boy had ever wanted to kiss her.

Heather had not been her favorite person after that.

Three years later, Teta still avoided Heather as much as possible, and that was why she was annoyed when she walked into the kitchen to find Heather still there. Cook knew how Teta felt about the girl, so she told Heather to go ahead and leave for the day, stating that Teta would help her finish cleaning the dishes.

"So," Cook said merrily, "good news about this mess finally being over. I shall be glad to see lord Algus home again! I need to talk to him about getting some new pots. Just look at the state of these ones!"

"Yes," Teta agreed, "And I need to ask him for some new clothing for Layla as well."

Cook smiled. "That girl is growing like a weed!"

"She truly is," Teta agreed. They washed the dishes in companionable silence for a few minutes, until a young man tapped politely at the kitchen door. Cook let him in.

It was one of the boys from the nearby village. Teta recognized his face, though they had never actually spoken to each other before. She had seen him during the services in the small village church sometimes. He was tall, but he looked like he was probably a few years younger than Teta. She estimated him to be fourteen or fifteen.

"Denston!" Cook greeted him, "Now, what brings you here?"

Denston was holding a small bunch of white daisies in his hand. He grinned. "I came to speak to Teta, ma'am," he said to Cook. "What luck that she is here already!"

"Oh?" Cook said, with exaggeratedly raised eyebrows. "To talk to Teta, hmm? Well, that is good timing, you can keep her company whilst I run to the privy."

Cook turned to Teta, so that Denston could not see, and gave her a big wink.

Teta suddenly felt like an animal in a trap, for some reason. She wanted to yell, _No, don't go! _to Cook, but she instead said nothing as Cook walked away.

Denston thrust the handful of daisies at her. "For you, Teta," he told her.

Teta was very confused. She had only learned his name a few seconds ago, when Cook spoke it. Why was he offering her flowers and asking to speak to her? "Oh. Um, why? If I may ask?" Teta said, awkwardly accepting the daisies.

Denston chuckled. "They weren't kidding, you _do _talk like a noble!"

"It is not on purpose," Teta insisted, "I simply speak as I was raised to speak."

"Nah, nah, it's fine," Denston assured her. "I don't mind."

"All right." Teta said. She still had no idea what he was doing here.

"Well," Denston finally said, with a dimpled grin. He ran his hand through his curly blonde hair. "I'm here because I've heard Heather and the other girls talking about you a lot over the years. And they say a lot of nasty things, you know, but I actually think you're pretty cute, Teta." He smiled at her again, in the manner of a boy who was popular and was certain of his own good looks and charm. "So, I was thinking… what better way to shut them all up about you never kissing a boy, than for me to kiss you?"

Teta was startled, and feeling something like dread settling in her belly. "You want to… kiss me?" she asked quietly.

"Sure, why not?" Denston said.

Teta tried to imagine it. She tried to imagine letting this swaggering young man kiss her. She went on to imagine him walking back to the village afterward, and loudly bragging that lonely little Teta had swooned at his feet, just dying for the chance to kiss him. Heather and the others would laugh at that, too. They would all laugh at her, no matter what she did. She could not fit in with them. She was 'too noble' to fit in with the commoners, and she was 'too common' to fit in with the nobles. So, she supposed she shouldn't worry about their opinions at all.

One thing was for sure: she did not want to kiss this cocky boy who thought he could just walk in and have her affection. She would rather remain the pathetic girl who had never been kissed.

"I cannot. I am sorry," Teta said, carefully.

"What? Really? Why?" Denston demanded.

"I just cannot. I am sorry you had to waste your time walking up here."

Denston gave her a disgusted look. "You really are as cold as they say you are, huh? Aren't you?"

"I… I do not mean to—"

"Forget it," Denston said dismissively. He stalked out of the kitchen without even a backward look.

Once he was gone, Teta leaned back against the counter and let out a long breath. Why was she incapable of having interactions that did _not _become awkward and embarrassing? She was starting to think she really was better off without having a man in her life. She clearly did not know how to talk to them.

Denston would surely be off telling everyone in the village what a frigid brat she was, right about now. Oh well. The villagers had not really had a good opinion of her in the first place, so nothing was lost.

Cook appeared to be bursting with excitement when she finally returned to the kitchen. "I tried to give you two enough privacy!" Cook said conspiratorially.

Teta gave her a glum look. "You need not have bothered."

"What? Oh, come now, tell me how it was! Denston kissed you, did he not?" Cook said in a rather motherly tone.

"He offered to. But I said no."

"You said no! Gods, why, girl? If a boy that handsome had tried to kiss _me_ when I was your age, I'd have fainted!" Cook exclaimed.

"Oh, I do not know, Cook! He was just so arrogant. I felt like he only wanted to kiss me so that he could go brag to everyone else. You know, tell them all that the prudish girl in the manor fell for him. I guess I would rather just stay prudish." Teta explained with a shrug.

"Well," Cook said, "just remember that beggars can't be choosers. You do not exactly have a line of other men waiting to kiss you."

Teta laughed. "I think I am just a spinster now, honestly. Is eighteen too young to be officially declared an unwanted old-maid?"

Cook smiled wryly and shook her head. "I'm always surprised by the things that come out of your mouth."

00000

Teta had expected that when Algus returned home from the war, he would be exhausted and downtrodden (he had been living rough for months, after all). But when he arrived home, after visiting another soldier's estate for a social call for a few days, Algus was ready to work. He immediately asked Tom for the records he had kept regarding the manor's expenses, money brought in from the farms on the property, and money paid out as wages to the servants.

Algus spent his first day home cooped up in his rooms going over all of the records. He trusted Tom, who had previously been trusted by his father as well, with record-keeping whenever he was absent. But he needed to check everything himself, to feel truly reassured that the estate would survive the financial impact of the war.

While he was in his sitting room, looking at all of the papers, Algus's thoughts occasionally drifted to Teta, who he assumed was in the nursery with his sister, Layla, right now. He had thought about Teta a lot while he was gone. The last time he saw her, she had said those sweet things to him; that she prayed for his safety, and she no longer felt he owed her anything for saving his life. The unusual interaction had rather haunted him during his subsequent travels. Did this mean that she _liked_ him? How would he even feel about that, if she did?

There had been nights when he was sore and tired and lonely, and at those times he had sort of hoped she did. The idea of a pretty girl back home who liked him was simply comforting in those moments. But then, in the light of day, surrounded by his peers, Algus would remember his thoughts from the night before, and think that he was crazy.

She was a _commoner! _What exactly would he do about a commoner having a crush on him? It was not as though he could court her, or marry her. He would be a laughingstock for showing that sort of interest in a common girl. And he doubted she would want to be his mistress. Especially considering how religious she was.

Now Algus was walking down the hall to Layla's nursery, and he was feeling surprisingly nervous about seeing Teta again. He wondered if she would greet him in an affectionate way. He pictured the way Alma Beoulve had greeted her brother Ramza three years ago at Igros castle: throwing her arms around him, planting kisses all over his cheeks. Would Teta do that to him now that he was home from the war?

If she did, he would have to tell her that was inappropriate. He had to maintain boundaries as the master of the house.

Algus opened the nursery door to find Teta and Layla sitting at the table practicing Layla's writing skills.

Teta glanced up at him. He felt like his breath had left him, at the sight of her beautiful face; looking exactly the way he remembered it. She gave him an inquiring look and then a small smile, but she did not get up from her chair, or jump into his arms or anything.

_Oh, hell. _Algus realized, with a sinking feeling, that he had been _hoping _she would do those things. Not _dreading _them, as he had tried to tell himself. He realized that _he_ might be the one feeling inappropriate feelings for _her_. Teta probably had not meant anything beyond her exact words the last time she had spoken to him.

Why did he feel so disappointed right now?

"Lord brother!" Layla shrieked. Layla, at least, ran over to him and gave him a hug. He was happy to see his little sister. He knelt down to talk with her, asking if she had been well in his absence. Layla began to chatter to him about all the things she had seen and done in the past few months. Algus loosely paid attention, but he was distracted by Teta getting out of her chair and beginning to walk toward him. She stopped a couple feet away from him, resting her hand on the top of Layla's little head.

"Layla and I are happy to have you back, my lord!" she said cheerfully.

Teta was confused by the serious look he gave her in return. He stared hard at her, like he was trying to see inside her brain, trying to find something she was hiding from him.

"My lord?" she asked.

He closed his eyes and shook his head briefly. "I think I am still tired from my journey. I cannot seem to focus on anything said to me today."

"Oh. Perhaps you should go to bed early? Although I did wish to ask you about some things we need for Layla."

Algus sighed. As soon as he came home, the servants all had dozens of requests that only he could approve. He was not mentally ready to handle more information. He now thought he had been running on pure adrenaline, simply from wondering if Teta would greet him warmly. Now that he had seen her, and she had not done so, his energy was completely gone.

"Perhaps you could let me have a few hours to adjust to being home _from the war_, before you bombard me with demands," he said, in a decidedly angry tone. "I think I shall retire early, after all."

Algus turned and left.

Teta found his behavior strange, and a bit rude, but that was nothing new. He had said far ruder things to her during her time in the manor. She recalled about a year ago, when he had been home for a visit, he had been out in the yard with Layla, making a pretend fortress out of her wooden building blocks. He had asked, or rather _told,_ Teta to hand them a piece that was out of his reach, and when she absentmindedly passed it over to him, he had exclaimed, "This is the wrong shape, miss Hyral! Are you _stupid_, as well as ugly?"

He insulted her like that at every opportunity.

It suddenly occurred to Teta that she really might not be as ugly as Algus had always claimed. When she looked in the mirror, she did not think she looked that bad. But the noble girls at her old school in Igros had always called her ugly, and then Algus had done so, as well. At that point, she had thought they must be right.

Until now. Denston may have been insufferably full of himself, but he _had_ called her cute. And he had wanted to kiss her. She still found Denston repulsive, but she was now feeling grateful for the encounter. If she had to tolerate any of Algus's unnecessary insults in the future, then she would hold on to the idea that he might be wrong.

Although, now that she was thinking about it, she realized that Algus had not insulted her at all during their last two encounters with each other: today and the time before. Perhaps he had finally outgrown that sort of behavior. She certainly hoped so.

00000

_A/N: This was sort of just an intro chapter, to establish where we are in the plot now. The next chapter is more fun, I think!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The following afternoon, which was shaping up to be bleak and rainy, Algus made a repeat visit to his sister and her governess in the nursery. He had slept for about twelve hours straight in his comfortable bed, and some of his normal energy levels had returned to him.

All business, he said to Teta, "Let us finish our conversation from yesterday. You said there are some things that Layla needs?"

"Yes, my lord. As you can see, she is quickly outgrowing her gowns; I think we will need to take a trip to the seamstress for new ones. And she is almost six years old, it is time she began to learn an instrument. Oh! And painting, we need to…"

Algus tried his best to listen to the staggeringly long list of items Layla needed in order to be properly raised as a noble lady. But he could not do it. He doubted anyone could pay attention through that entire list. He finally held his hand up to stop Teta from going on.

"Look," he said slowly, "Finances will be tight for the next couple of years. I have already spoken to Tom about this, and the household cannot spend money at the levels we would have before the war. With so many farms abandoned, the tithe money coming in is not what it used to be."

"I see," Teta said, sounding dejected.

"I am not saying 'no' to everything," Algus assured her, "I am simply telling you that we must decide what is a priority for Layla and what is not. How about this: write a list of everything that you think Layla needs, and we will look at the list together, and decide what to do."

"All right. I will," Teta said. Then she brightened. "Oh! There is one thing I have been meaning to ask you about, which will not cost any money!" Teta pointed to the tapestry on the nursery wall. "Layla dislikes this tapestry in her room. She is very fond of animals, and if you look in the corner there, there is an image of a stag bleeding during a hunt. Layla told me she does not like the blood in the picture, and she wants a different tapestry in her room."

Algus walked over and peered at the tapestry. Yes, there in the corner was, in fact, a tiny image of a stag with an arrow in its side. Probably only three or four stitches of red yarn had been used to depict the blood on the wound.

"This is so small!" Algus exclaimed, "She wants us to change the tapestry over something that insignificant?"

"It is _disgusting_, lord brother," Layla said, with gravity.

Teta and Algus both chuckled.

"I do not think it should be a great problem to make the change, if you will allow it," Teta said. "I found two spare tapestries rolled up in your storage room. One of them seems to depict an enchanted forest, which Layla would certainly prefer."

"I suppose that is fine," Algus said.

"Wonderful!" Teta exclaimed, "I will go fetch the other tapestry right now, if you only mind Layla for a moment, please!"

Teta dashed out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Algus to babysit.

Teta came back a few minutes later, carrying a large rolled-up tapestry in her arms. "This is the one! I think you will love it, Layla!" she said cheerfully.

"Oh, let me see it, miss Teta!" Layla exclaimed.

Teta set it down heavily toward one side of the room. "In a moment, I will. Please go sit on your bed for now, though, Layla. I do not want you to be in the way while I am taking the old tapestry off the wall."

"Miss Hyral," Algus suddenly interjected, like a dark cloud blocking out sunshine, "It was highly inappropriate for you to _order_ me to mind Layla while you left. A servant does not tell the master of the house to do anything."

Teta, with her blood already high in her cheeks from the exertion of carrying the heavy tapestry, turned and gave Algus a glare that looked like pure murder. It took her a moment to compose herself and make her eyes stop flashing threateningly. Algus raised his eyebrows.

"All right, _my lord,_" she finally replied.

_Was her tone sarcastic?_ Algus wondered. Her exuberant attitude was definitely gone, and replaced with something unpleasant. Algus had felt it was necessary to reprimand her, but he did not feel good about having ruined her happy mood. He was not the best at reading women's emotions (or really, _anyone's_ emotions), but he was fairly certain Teta was sulking now. Also, she had not apologized for her inappropriate behavior, which a servant definitely should have done when chastised by her lord… but, Algus could not seem to find the initiative to correct her again.

Teta angrily dragged the arm-chair over to the wall, and then stood on the chair. The top of the tapestry, where it hooked in place on the wall, was still well above her head, although she was not especially short. Still, Algus would have had an easier time reaching the hooks, being perhaps six inches taller than she.

But Teta did not ask him for help this time, especially since she was busy mulling over how rude he had just been about her asking for his assistance in watching Layla a moment ago. She thought to herself: _What a miserly jerk, he cannot even mind a child for three minutes without complaining. He thinks he is too good to help out._

Teta stood on her tip-toes on the chair cushion, and she was just barely able to reach the cord that attached the left corner of the tapestry to its hook on the wall. She unhooked it triumphantly.

There. Now only about nineteen more cords left to unhook.

Algus watched with alarm while Teta precariously went up onto her toes again whilst balanced atop the seat of the chair. She was reaching for the next hook, which was a few inches to the right, making it even more of a stretch for her. She looked like she could easily lose her balance and fall.

_Reckless girl, _Algus thought to himself. He quickly walked over and put his hands on her hips to keep her steady. He thought it was stupid of her to be balanced on a chair like that (she really should have asked him or Tom for the ladder), but he admitted to himself that he did not mind being given the opportunity to touch her.

Teta's breath hitched when she felt Algus's warm hands wrap around her hips. For a moment, she even forgot she was angry with him. How did his touch feel this good? His hands were so large that it made her feel dainty in comparison. She thought if he wrapped them around her small waist, they would probably fit all the way around, easily. _Oh Ajora. _She needed to stop that train of thought right now. She slid the second cord off of its hook.

There was just one little awkward second where she stood there not doing anything, and purely enjoyed the feeling of Algus's hands on her. Then she said, "I need to move the chair to the right to reach the next hook."

Teta turned around, and was additionally surprised when Algus offered her his hand to help her step down from the chair. It was a simple courteous gesture, really, and it would not have surprised her if it came from any other man. But she had grown accustomed to thinking of Algus as rude and un-courteous, so it was indeed surprising.

She was careful to keep her face blank of all emotion when she took his offered hand and stepped down. She was still sort of mad at him, and she did not want him to guess that she had enjoyed the feeling of his hands on her hips. "Thank you," she said quietly, and then she scooted the chair a couple feet to the right.

"Can I help, miss Teta?" Layla called, from her seat on her bed.

"I think not, Layla, this job needs a tall adult. Just stay there, please," Teta said.

"If you insist on using a chair to do this, instead of going to get the ladder, then would you like _me _to unhook the rest?" Algus asked, "I_ am_ taller than you."

"I can do it myself, thank you," Teta replied, in a sassy tone. She knew she should hold back her temper, but she could not help adding, in a whisper that would not be heard by Layla all the way across the room, "I would not want you to throw another_ tantrum_ if I ask you to do anything for me."

She stepped back up onto the chair.

Algus gave half an exasperated laugh. "A tantrum?! I hardly think that telling you your behavior was inappropriate qualifies as me throwing a tantrum!" He grabbed onto her hips again, harder than was strictly necessary, to keep her steady. In this awkward position, her butt was basically right in front of his face, and he momentarily thought about spanking it in revenge for her comment. The idea made him grin, but he knew he would never be crude enough to actually do it.

"Well, I am sorry that you think anyone asking you for help is 'inappropriate'!" Teta hissed in an angry whisper, "I shall try to remember in the future that you prefer to be of no use to anyone but yourself!"

Teta regretted the spontaneous words as soon as they escaped her mouth. They sounded harsher than she had meant them to, and Algus really was not thatbad. He had given her a home and a job, after all.

Teta started to apologize, but before she could get the words out, she was shocked to feel Algus _lift _her off the chair entirely, hands gripping her around her ribs as if she weighed nothing. Stunned, she let go of the part of the tapestry she had been holding, as Algus maneuvered her through the air and set her feet down on the floor. He twisted her around so she was facing him, and now he had one arm around her waist, with his other hand firmly gripping the back of her neck. There was nowhere for her to move; the chair was pressed against the back of her legs, and Algus' body was now pressed against her front. She was able to see his frighteningly grim expression for only a moment before he leaned in very close to her, so that his face was in her hair and his lips were literally brushing her ear as he spoke.

"You think you can speak to your lord like that, Teta?" Algus whispered, low and very quiet.

Teta's heart was racing about four times as fast as normal. She found she was trembling, and she felt embarrassed that he must be able to feel it. Her hands had needed to grasp, well, _anything, _to steady herself, and she had wound up grabbing handfuls of his loose tunic near his upper arm, and near his waist on the other side.

"Are you two hugging each other?" Layla chirped curiously from the other side of the room.

Algus lifted his head to call back, "Yes, just hugging. Stay over there, Layla."

He then lowered his mouth back to whisper to Teta, "You think I am selfish? And you think all of the rules do not apply to you? You know, those rules of etiquette are in place as much for the servant's benefit as for the lord's. A servant shows proper _respect_ for a lord. And in return, her lord respects her rights."

Teta could not speak.

Still with his lips intimately pressed to the shell of her ear, Algus said, "Have I ever beaten you, Teta? There are a lot of noblemen who would do so, for what you just said to me." He paused for a moment, and then he continued, "I was told that a serving girl once talked back to my grandfather. _His_ method of teaching her a lesson was to fall upon her, right there in the hallway. My father told me he saw it happen. My grandfather just _pushed_ the girl to the ground," Algus's hands tightened around Teta as he said it, "and had his way with her, for everyone to see… Have I ever treated _you_ in such a way, Teta?"

"N—No."

"Then perhaps you can try to show me the same respect. I have been a good lord to you, have I not?"

Teta gulped, and nodded.

"All right, then," Algus said, releasing her from his grip. "I suppose we should finish changing this tapestry."

When Teta climbed back up onto the chair this time, she felt so shaky that she truly did need his hands on her hips to keep her steady.

00000

_I shall never manage to sleep well again, _Teta thought to herself, frustrated.

It was around ten o'clock in the evening, and she had been in bed for an hour already. She had just re-lit her candle, thinking that she might read a book for a while. This was the second night after her confrontation with Algus, and it seemed her body and her mind had teamed up to make sure she could not sleep.

Teta's thoughts raced, frequently going over the horrible thing that Algus had whispered to her. She felt mortified, truly, at the thought that some poor serving girl had been publicly raped by Algus's grandfather. She had not asked, but she naturally assumed this was the same grandfather that had betrayed his men and ruined the Sadalfas name. Surely, Algus had not had _two _terrible grandfathers?

She twisted around in her bed, trying to get comfortable, for the millionth time. Truth be told, the story about Algus's grandfather was not the main thing keeping Teta awake. It was the memory of Algus's hands on her, and his lips at her ear.

It had felt so… sexy. It had left her weak in the knees, somehow. She had never thought of Algus as sexy before. Sure, he was sort of handsome, in his serious, brooding way. But he was a jerk. He often said mean things to her. He did not know how to have fun, and he seemed to have been born with an inability to be charming. So why couldn't she stop thinking about him touching her?

She stifled a groan as she remembered the pleasant shockwaves that had seemed to pour from the crown of her head down into her lower belly while his voice was in her ear. The feeling of that, plus his arm tight around her waist, _that _had been what she had always hoped her first kiss would feel like. Tingly, and magical, and lust-inducing. And somehow, Algus had made her feel all of that without even kissing her.

Of course, the content of his words had been dark, and even vaguely threatening. But for some reason, she could not bring herself to care about that anywhere near as much as she cared about the touching.

Teta rolled onto her back and sighed. She placed her own palm on her waist and remembered the feel of Algus's large hand. Then she let her hand slide lower, over her belly, between her legs. She slowly stroked her fingers in a lazy oval, up and down over herself, through her shift and her underwear.

She closed her eyes, and began to rub a bit more quickly… when suddenly she heard footsteps on the stairs leading up to the attic. She quickly pulled her hand away from her crotch. She was the only servant who lived up in the attic these days! No one but her ever came up here, typically, since the two other attic servants' rooms were unoccupied.

When the footsteps reached the landing there was a pause, and then a knock on her door. Teta got out of her bed and pulled her blanket around herself like a shawl. She did not own a nightgown, and it would not be acceptable to answer the door in her shift, which was so thin it was nearly see-through. Safely wrapped in the blanket, she opened her bedroom door to find the very man she had just been thinking about.

"Oh! My lord?" Teta said. She blushed immediately. Logically, she knew he could not read her mind and he would not know what she had just been doing to herself, but in that moment, she felt embarrassed anyway.

"Miss Hyral. I hope I did not wake you. I could see the candlelight under your door."

She noticed he had gone back to calling her 'miss Hyral'. He had used her first name while he had whispered to her.

"No, I was awake. I cannot seem to get to sleep tonight." Teta said.

"Neither can I! I thought I needed to come up here and—" he looked awkward, and rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, "—apologize to you about… when I… you know, the other day…"

Teta gave her best wide-eyed-and-innocent look, as if she did not know what he was talking about.

Algus chuckled. "I should not have grabbed you like that, or told you that tale about my grandfather. I guess at the time I thought I could scare some respect into you. But, I want you to know that that is not something I would do. I was not trying to threaten you."

"What do you mean?" Teta asked, still wide-eyed. She knew what he meant, of course, but she could not help teasing him a little.

Algus blushed, which secretly delighted Teta. It was fun to turn the tables and watch him squirm. "I mean, I was not threatening to rape you. I would not do that. I am… sorry."

Teta was honestly shocked to get an actual apology from him. She softened her attitude immediately. "I know, my lord. And _I _am sorry I implied you were selfish." She shook her head. "I do not really think that. I was just angry, and I said the first mean thing that came to mind."

Algus smiled. "You do have quite a temper."

Teta gave him an incredulous look. "Forgive me, but I do not think I am alone in having that fault!"

They both smiled at that.

"Tell me, why are you wearing a blanket?" Algus asked her.

"I just pulled this around me when you knocked. I do not have a nightgown to wear to bed." Teta tried not to duck her head in shame, as she said this. The truth was, she had to make do with very little in the way of possessions. She had the three drab gowns she wore as a governess, which were all becoming threadbare after three years of use, and three shifts to wear under them. And that was it. She did not have a proper nightgown. She did not even have a nicer dress to wear to the chapel in the village down the road when she attended church services.

That was yet another thing the village girls liked to make fun of her for. Even the poorest of the poor girls had a 'Sunday best' dress to wear to church, but Teta did not. She looked like a pathetic little mouse dressed in gray or brown while everyone else in the church wore their brightest and best. Teta tried not to stress about it, though the taunts did hurt. She did not have enough money to buy a new gown (unless she were to spend every last gil of her savings so far), and that was that. She did not see the point in complaining or moping. She knew only too well that there were worse problems in life.

Algus, still standing in the doorway, quickly took a glance around her room. It was depressingly empty, sort of like a soldier's barracks. There was her small bed, and the wooden chest she stored her clothing in, and that was basically it. No pretty tapestries here, not even any decorative knick-knacks. He supposed that made sense, as she had not been able to bring any possessions from her old life with the Beoulves.

"So, you just sleep in your shift?" Algus asked.

Teta was prepared to give him an angry glare. A shift was a piece of women's underclothing, and Algus asking about it was roughly as rude as if he had mentioned her panties. But Algus immediately realized his mistake, and said, "Nevermind! I should not have asked you that."

Teta smiled wanly.

Algus stared at her for just a moment, not knowing what to say. She looked quite cute with her hair out of its usual braid, and messed up from her lying in bed. She also looked vulnerable, somehow, after telling him she did not own something as basic as a nightgown. Her lower lip had seemed to tremble a bit at the admission. He felt an urge to put his arms around her again, but he could not seem to find the courage to step into her room. He did not even know if she would welcome him, if he did.

"I must go. Perhaps, I shall sleep better for having apologized," Algus said.

"Yes. Perhaps I shall, as well. Goodnight, my lord," Teta said softly.

It was strange to hear a word as simple as 'goodnight' from Teta. The two of them had spent weeks sleeping across a campfire from each other on the long and miserable trek from Fort Ziekden to Limberry, when he first agreed that Teta could come work in his home. But they had essentially done their best to pretend the other person did not exist during that trip; they had made enemies of each other from the start. They had certainly never bid each other goodnight, when they fell exhaustedly to sleep after an entire day of walking.

For that matter, Algus had never said goodnight to any of his fellow soldiers while out in the field. The men did not really say that to each other. It was usually more of a casual 'see you in the morning' when they retired to their bedrolls. Probably, the last person who had ever said 'goodnight' to Algus was his beloved nanny, who had died when he was ten years old.

"Um, yes. Goodnight, miss Hyral." Algus replied awkwardly.

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_A/N: Back-to-back new chapters, yay! To warzonecall: thank you so much for your kind review on chapter 11! I really liked that part with Ovelia too. It would be fun to write an extended Ovelia/Delita fic eventually... I would definitely have to take some time to figure out where to go with it. Delita is such a tricky character, haha. Even after having played Tactics many times over, I still can't decide if I personally agree or disagree with Delita's life choices. The people who created this game really were so creative, to have developed characters that are so incredibly nuanced!_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Algus found that there was much to be done around the estate in the first couple weeks after he arrived home from the war. Tom always did his best to keep things running smoothly whenever Algus, or his father before him, was away. But there were things Tom simply did not notice, or was too old to handle by himself.

In the first week, Algus had quickly assessed that the fence by the stable was badly in need of replacement. He had rounded up the stable lads, and set them to helping him begin to tear out the old posts and set in new ones. This was one of many ongoing projects he knew would need to be completed before winter.

There were also lesser problems, like the flagstones around the garden being crooked and half sunken in some areas. He would like to fix those, but was unsure if he or anyone else would ever have the spare time.

There was so much to be done. Every household in Ivalice was feeling the same strain. So many people had died during the back-to-back wars that there were simply not enough hands to manage everything anymore. Some farms sat abandoned, with no sons or daughters left to work them. Even some noble houses were so understaffed that they were falling into disrepair. Algus was determined that this would not happen to his estate.

He settled into a pattern for each day: hunting at sunrise, and then hard labor until sunset. He also made certain that the various servants were not slacking throughout the day; he knew some of them had probably not worked their hardest to earn their pay whilst he had not been home to oversee their work. Tom did his best to supervise the servants in his lord's absence, but Tom was not quick to chastise.

Today, Algus's main focus was one of the massive old trees on the property which had apparently fallen down during a storm, while he was away. It had been left to sit where it fell, and Algus needed to salvage what firewood he could from it.

Chopping wood was unfortunately one of the tasks Tom could no longer accomplish, with his bad back. Tom told Algus he had tried to find a strong older lad in the village to do it, but there simply had not been anyone available, before the war ended. Nearly everyone aged between sixteen and forty had been drafted into the armies.

This morning, Algus was walking out to the fallen tree to get started on it, holding a large saw in one hand, and an axe over his other shoulder. It was fine weather to be outdoors. A nice little late-spring breeze was blowing.

Algus heard two sets of footsteps racing behind him, and turned to see Teta and Layla both jogging to catch up to him.

"My lord!" Teta hailed, "Tom told us you are going to start chopping up the fallen tree! Layla wishes to watch you work on it, if you do not mind?"

"I like to climb on that tree!" Layla said. "But miss Teta never lets me climb the branches as high as I wish."

Algus smiled. To Layla, he said, "It shall be rather dull work. And you will need to stay back while I am using the axe. Will you do that?"

"Yes, lord brother!" Layla exclaimed.

"Then you may come along," Algus replied.

Layla perched safely atop one end of the fallen tree, while Algus went to work on the other end. Teta stood on the ground beside Layla, making sure the little girl did not try any dangerous stunts.

Algus was alternating between using his saw and his axe, as needed. Whenever Algus swung the axe, Layla clapped and cheered. Just for fun, Teta occasionally joined in with the clapping. Algus had to admit that their presence made his grueling task more entertaining.

The little breeze from this morning was gone now, and the midday sun mixed with his manual labor soon had Algus' tunic soaked with sweat. He was not shy about pulling it off over his head once it became uncomfortable. Monks went into battle shirtless, after all, and he did not think he needed to keep his tunic on as a courtesy to Teta or Layla.

Plus… well, he had built an awful lot of muscle over the years, as a squire. Maybe there was a part of him that wanted Teta to see the results of all that.

Truthfully, Algus could not have even suspected how much Teta was enjoying the view after he took his shirt off. The sunshine on his golden blond hair, sweat making his olive-toned skin glisten, the thick rope-like muscles in his arms and shoulders and back flexing as he swung his axe once again…

And, the sheer power behind each swing… Teta's hand had come up to her mouth, and she found she was unconsciously biting into her knuckle. She stopped, before he had a chance to see it; knowing he would probably ask what in hell was wrong with her.

When Algus needed a break, he set his axe down and strolled over to Teta and Layla. _Gods, _Teta thought. He also had a very nice-looking torso, even with the large scars on his abdomen from the injuries he sustained at Fort Ziekden. He was solidly built, especially for being only about twenty years old.

She noted that there was enough hair on his chest already to make him look more like a man than a boy. Sweat gleamed off every inch of him. Teta wanted to touch it.

She did not let herself stare for too long at him, even though she quite wanted to. As he approached, she tried to keep her eyes downcast, or else focused over on Layla.

"It has turned out to be a hotter day than I thought it would be," Algus commented to her, using his forearm to swipe the sweat from his brow.

"I could fetch a drink for you," Teta offered.

"Later, perhaps. Let Layla have her fun, for now," he said, looking over at his sister, who was balancing her way across the trunk of the tree.

"All right." Teta said. She gestured at the area Algus had been sawing and hacking apart. "You are making quick work of this," she commented.

He shrugged. "I am trying, but I expect it will take me a fortnight or more to cut this whole thing apart." His shoulders slumped at the thought. "I am going to check whether any of the men in the village have time to help out with this job. Though, they probably do not." Now that the men were back from the war, they had a thousand tasks to accomplish around their own households. Still, for the right amount of coin, Algus could probably scrounge up a strong assistant or two.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Teta asked.

"You think you can swing that axe?"

Teta grinned. "I could try."

Algus shook his head. "I was only jesting. It is heavy."

Teta felt challenged now. "I will give it a try," she insisted.

They walked over to the axe, and Algus handed it to her. He skeptically eyed her slender upper arms. "Are you certain you wish to try this?" he asked.

Algus showed her where to put her hands on the handle. The axe really _was_ very heavy, and her swing did not accomplish very much.

"I suppose I must endeavor to get stronger," Teta said. "I had thought I could do better than that."

"You _could_ get stronger, if you wanted to," Algus said. "I sometimes fought alongside women who could have hefted an axe twice that size."

Teta bit her lip, feeling rather like a failure. "Well, my lord, I am sorry I could not be of more assistance."

"Hey," he said. He reached out and nudged her chin, so she looked back up at him. "I do not truly expect you to do my work for me!_ I_ will do the wood chopping around here, and _you_ will teach Layla. That is one job I would never have the patience for."

She smiled. "Fair enough."

"Is it _my _turn to swing the axe yet?" Layla whined from behind them.

00000

Teta and Layla ended up spending the rest of the day helping Algus. They were at least able to push a wheelbarrow back and forth to cart the chopped wood back to the manor. At the end of the afternoon, Algus praised Layla for all her hard work, and Layla beamed at the compliment from her big brother.

After dinner, when Teta finished tucking Layla into bed, she found Algus waiting for her at the nursery door. He appeared to have just taken a bath. His hair was still wet.

"Miss Hyral," he said, "do you have a moment?"

"Yes. Is everything all right, my lord?"

Algus was fidgeting slightly. He looked nervous or uncomfortable for some reason, and Teta had no idea why.

"Fine, yes," he said. "I have something to show you. Something _for _you."

_Does he mean a gift? _Teta wondered. Suddenly she felt nervous, and excited, herself. "Oh! What is it?" she said.

"Follow me."

He led her down the hallway. Staring at Algus's broad back (which was now clothed, unfortunately), Teta was pondering how he had managed to somehow both meet _and_ defy her expectations of him, since he had returned home. She had assumed that he would be lazy, and expect the servants to do all the work whilst he lounged around gloating about being 'better' than commoners.

As it turned out, that opinion could not have been further from the truth. He _did _care about status, and he insisted that others act appropriately for their station, but he was definitely not lazy. Even though he could have used his status as an excuse to sit around doing nothing, he instead worked from dawn 'til dusk, as hard as anyone else. Perhaps even harder.

Teta respected that. She thought his actions showed a strength of character, even though his words often did not.

Oh, who was she kidding? His _words_ pretty much _never_ showed character.

The thought made Teta give a bit of a silent laugh, which he could not see, as they walked.

Algus entered the chambers intended for the Lady of the manor, and Teta shyly followed him. She had never been in here before. The manor had no Lady at the moment, and the rooms were usually closed up, unless someone came in to clean them. Algus picked up a square of folded white fabric that sat atop a chest of drawers, and then he handed it to her.

"I remembered that you said you do not have a nightgown," he explained. "My lady mother's clothing was all stored away in chests, but I looked through them until I found the nightgown she used to wear."

Teta carefully unfolded the fabric to take a look. The sun had almost finished setting outside, but there was just barely enough light still coming in through the window for her to see.

The nightgown was truly beautiful. There was detailed embroidery all around the hems, and even some gold thread stitched around the collar.

"You do not mean for me to have it?" she asked softly, stroking her fingers over some of the lovely embroidery.

"I did. Do you not like it?" he asked.

Teta felt tears pricking her eyes. "I think it is beautiful. But it is far too fine for someone like me to wear."

Algus gently put his hand on her upper arm, and held it. "Just accept it. You need a nightgown."

"Thank you… Really. This is so kind, I do not know what to say." Teta murmured. It had been years since anyone had gifted her anything, let alone paid attention to her needs and given her something truly useful.

She continued to stroke her fingers over the fine fabric, staring down at her new treasure. But even holding that beautiful present, Teta was terribly sad. In that moment, she was overcome with the knowledge that she had a full-blown crush on the person standing in front of her.

She felt like crying, and it was all she could do to stop the tears from leaking out of her eyes. She really _liked_ him, in a way that she had never felt for any other man. And she knew there was no way he would ever like her back. He owned this manor, and he was part of the nobility. She owned nothing much at all, and she was an orphaned commoner. What man would possibly want her? Plus, he thought she was ugly.

Still, Algus had not yet released his hold on her arm. It felt nice.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

The last of the sun's rays had disappeared. The blue haze left outside the window gave them barely enough light to see anything but shadows and outlines.

"Sometimes… I wish we could call each other by our first names." Teta said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

His fingers around her arm gave a small squeeze.

"Teta."

He said her name like a caress. She shivered.

She wanted to lean in to him, or put her hand on his chest. But she did not move. She felt like if she moved even an inch, then the moment between them would be gone, as if it had never existed.

"Call me by my name when we are alone together," he finally told her.

"Algus," she breathed softly.

His other hand came up to hold onto her other arm, just above the elbow. She continued to stare down at the nightgown in her hands. She would not look up. When she looked up, she knew, he would let go of her. And then she would feel very alone.

They stood like that, without speaking another word, for longer than made sense. And then Teta finally took a step back, thanking Algus again for his gift, and they made their way out of the room.

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	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

One afternoon, Algus made his way down to the kitchen. Cook was there, as well as the scrawny girl from the village who helped prepare the evening meal. Algus could never remember her name. Not that it really mattered to him. His father had taught him to think of servants as interchangeable. If they were doing their job properly, then there was not much need to notice them.

Of course, Cook herself was different. Cook had been around forever. She had doted on Algus' father when he was a boy, and she occasionally doted on Algus as well. He was fond of her, though he was not the sort of person to show it much.

The moment she saw him, Cook chuckled. "Here to sneak an extra meal again, m'lord?"

"Oh, take pity on me, Cook. I have worked up an appetite today, building that fence," he replied.

Cook shook her head, but she also began to slice into a fresh loaf of bread for him. She cut him a thick piece, and then slathered it with extra butter before she handed it to him. He wolfed it down in four bites.

"How about a cup of ale, as well?" he asked her, as soon as he finished chewing.

While she fetched the jug, Algus asked, "Any interesting news, Cook?" He knew that Cook and her husband, Tom, occasionally visited the village tavern the commoners used, when their work for the evening was finished. Algus was rather bored, having spent a long while now just being at home, working his hands to the bone each day. Any form of news from the outside world would be welcomed by him.

"Oh, really not much," Cook said. "Couple of the lads got in a fight a few days ago. Broken nose on one of 'em. Did you see it, Heather?" Cook asked, turning to the scrawny girl assisting her.

"No, ma'am," Heather said, careful to appear hard at work while the lord of the manor was watching.

"Other than that… Oh! Everyone has been talking for weeks about Teta. Denston from down the road tried to kiss her, and she wouldn't let him! Probably the first time Denston has ever heard the word 'no' from a lass," Cook chortled.

"You speak of Teta, my sister's governess?" Algus asked, for clarification.

"The very one!" Cook replied.

Algus was startled by the feeling that was suddenly building up inside of him. His fists clenched of their own volition. The War of the Lions had exposed him to so many opportunities for bloodshed that, in the end, he had mostly lost his taste for violence. But even so, he realized that he wanted to find this 'Denston' and beat his face to a bloody mash.

It had never even occurred to Algus that some other man might try to kiss Teta. She seemed so removed from the rest of the world, sort of like she was above it all.

"So, she did not let him kiss her?" Algus repeated, wanting further reassurance.

"No, m'lord. She told him to be on his way!"

Heather chose that moment to speak up. She seemed to think that Algus was _enjoying_ this line of gossip. "Denston's the most handsome boy in the whole village. She must be the coldest girl that ever lived, to tell _him_ no, m'lord." Heather gave Algus a conspiratorial smile when she finished speaking.

Algus turned a truly terrifying scowl onto Heather. The smile quickly faded off of Heather's face and, flustered, she turned around and went back to chopping vegetables.

Algus grabbed his cup from Cook, thanked her perfunctorily, and strode out of the kitchen.

He felt about to jump out of his skin. What in hell? He did not think Teta even _knew_ any of the boys from the village. How had one of them had a chance to try to kiss her?

He chugged back his ale.

Algus felt so confused about everything. He still had no idea what had passed between Teta and himself days ago, when he gave her the nightgown. He had thought that if she liked the gift, then maybe she would feel inclined to let _him _kiss her afterward. But she had seemed so sad. He had seen her eyes fill with tears, and then she would not look at him afterward.

And further, she had rather easily convinced him to break a rule he had never thought he would break: letting a commoner call him by his name. He had given his permission so quickly, and he had barely even needed to think twice about it.

Algus had spoken to Teta a few more times since giving her the nightgown, but Layla had always been present during each of those conversations, and they had not had an opportunity to speak of anything other than Layla's schooling.

Now, he was dying of curiosity. He desperately wanted to know how Teta had found herself in a situation where she had to tell this village boy that he could not kiss her. Algus thought angrily to himself,_ Denston is lucky her answer was no._

He saw no irony in feeling that possessive over a girl he himself had never even kissed.

Algus also felt sick to his stomach from hearing that this village boy was so handsome. Algus thought that he himself was a decent-looking man, but he knew he was not handsome on the same level as certain others. Like pretty-boy Ramza Beoulve, with swooning women always trailing after him.

Did Teta _like_ Denston, even though she had not kissed him that time? Was Algus making a fool of himself over a common girl who liked a different man?

By nightfall, Algus had decided that he could no longer bear not knowing. He waited until after Teta had helped Cook with some of the nightly chores, and then taken her evening bath. He heard her footsteps on the stairs up to her room in the attic. She should finally be alone now.

Algus, once again, found himself making the walk up the stairs to the servants' quarters to talk to her. That, in itself, was a bit humiliating. His lord father would roll over in his grave if he knew that his noble son was walking up these stairs to talk to a girl, instead of sending a servant to fetch her to him.

She was wearing her new nightgown when she answered his knock. Teta's daytime dresses were made of thick fabrics, and they laced up tightly, modestly. This nightgown simply flowed loosely down her body. The fabric was not overly sheer, but he could still slightly see the natural contours of her breasts, and the points of her nipples, beneath it. The sight left his mind rather blank for a moment.

Algus said stupidly, "Huh. I had not yet seen you in your nightgown."

Teta looked self-conscious. "Oh. Does it bother you to see me wear it, when you used to see it on your lady mother?"

Algus snorted. "I never saw my mother wearing it. I mostly only saw her at mealtimes."

Teta's brow furrowed. "She did not tuck you in at night? Or say your prayers with you before bed?"

"When I was younger, I had a nanny who did those things. My lady mother was not terribly interested in raising me, I think."

Teta thought that was sad. "What happened to your nanny?" she asked.

Algus felt an unexpected lump growing in his throat. He kept his voice carefully free of emotion when he replied, "She died when I was ten. My father did not see fit to replace her with anyone else. He decided I was old enough to look after myself, at that point. I did have a tutor, at least, for school lessons."

Teta nodded, not sure what else to say. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she asked, "Did you need anything of me, Algus?"

It gave him a thrill to hear his name on her lips.

Algus fidgeted and scuffed his foot on the floor. "I heard a story from Cook today," he admitted. "She told me some boy called Denston tried to kiss you."

_Oh Ajora. _Teta was mortified that Algus knew about that. She had tried her best not to think about the awkward encounter with Denston anymore. She put a hand to her forehead. "Ugh. I cannot believe she told you that!"

"What happened?" Algus demanded. "She said you refused?"

"Of course, I refused!" Teta exclaimed, "I do not even know him! He just _showed up_ in the kitchen one evening. I guess Heather had told him that I have never—" she faltered for a moment, feeling extra embarrassed to say this aloud to Algus, "—been kissed before, so he decided he would try to kiss me. Out of pity! And he was very arrogant about it. I hope to never see his face again."

Algus could not help letting out a relieved chuckle. He was very glad to have his fears put to rest.

"Oh, do not laugh at me! I already have the whole village saying mean things about me ever since that day," Teta pouted.

"No, I am not laughing at you! I promise," Algus said.

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Teta had found herself thinking a lot about Algus's comments regarding his mother and his nanny. The whole picture of his family was starting to come into focus for her, and it was not very pretty. His grandfather had been a heartless traitor, not to mention a rapist. His father, from what Cook had said about him, had not shown much warmth to Algus as he was growing up. He had felt very strongly about commoners being kept down 'in their place', which he had constantly preached to Algus, and whoever else would listen to him. Now Algus had told her that his mother, too, had been cold and uncaring toward him.

It made her heart hurt a little bit, to think of him at only ten years old, losing the one person who really seemed to care about him. Teta herself had had a lot of hardship in her life, but she had always had _someone_ to love her. After her parents died, she had still had Delita, and Alma's father, Lord Balbanes Beoulve, had acted like a father to Teta, until his own death. And then after she lost Delita… well, Layla had quickly helped to patch up that hole in her heart. She had not been completely alone.

But Algus did not seem to have _anyone_ he was that close with. Teta still had her crush on him. A large part of her wished she could be that person; the one who was closest to him. But she knew she needed to try to let go of that feeling. No matter how much she wished things were different, she could not change the fact that she was too lowborn for him. And apparently too ugly, as well.

Although, she reflected, it was true that he had not once called her ugly since last year. Still, that did not really mean anything. Maybe he was just trying to be a bit nicer these days.

Teta resolved that she would make an effort to be kinder to Algus as well. It seemed like he needed it more than most people. And in the meantime, she would remind herself constantly that this was just friendship. Surely, her sad little crush on him would fade away soon enough.

Although she was not sure if she would _ever_ be able to stop thinking about how good he had looked with his shirt off.

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The following night, Teta went to find Algus immediately after she had put Layla to bed. He was still out in the stable with a couple of the stable boys, doing something with the chocobos by the last of the sun's light.

Teta greeted him, and put forth her proposal: "I was wondering whether you might like it if I read aloud to you in the library on some evenings? At Igros, sometimes we would read to each other for fun. Alma, Delita, and Ramza, and I," she added. "And I spend most of my evenings reading anyway, after Cook and I finish our chores. So, I thought I would ask if you would like that or not."

Algus pushed his sweaty hair to the side, out of his eyes. "That would depend on what you wish to read to me."

Teta smiled. "How about if I let you choose the book?"

"All right," he agreed, "I need only take a bath first. Then I will meet you there."

00000

Algus knew every book in his library. He had actually been quite a reader when he was younger, before he was sent to squire for the Marquis. And he was extremely pleased that Teta had offered that he could choose the book, because he had a very specific one in mind.

This book was mostly about a young man having a swashbuckling adventure across the country. But halfway through it, there was a somewhat daring love scene between the hero and the lass he had bravely rescued from danger. Algus had read the book when he was eleven years old, and the scene had always stuck with him. It was one of the first times in his life he had really thought about the details of sex.

Now he was beyond pleased that Teta would eventually have to read that part out loud to him.

When he asked her, Teta said that she had not read that particular book before now. All was going to plan, so far.

Algus had brought a bottle of wine into the library. He generally had a drink or two after his dinner these days. One major benefit of being home was that he had access to the manor's wine cellar. He had grown tired of drinking only piss-flavored ale while out in the field as a soldier.

He offered Teta some of the wine, as well.

"I should not," she said, shyly. It was strange for him to be offering. He did not share wine with any of the other servants.

"You do not drink at all?" he asked.

"I used to sometimes have a small cup of wine with dinner when I lived at Igros castle," she admitted.

"Then have a small cup now."

"All right," Teta agreed. "Thank you, Algus."

They each settled themselves into one of the plush armchairs in the library, and Teta began to read.

Her voice tired after a couple of chapters, and they agreed to meet at the same time the next night to continue the book.

Algus had truly enjoyed listening to Teta reading to him, even without having reached the naughty bit of the book. It had felt comfortable, and intimate. He had alternated between closing his eyes while he listened, and then sometimes opening them to watch her pretty face. He felt more relaxed than he had in ages. It was sort of sweet, and he was touched that she had offered to do something for him.

Algus was starting to realize that he really liked Teta's unpredictable personality, even if he scolded her for it at times. Her temper challenged him in ways that he somehow found cute. He could not stop thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her.

But he also could not seem to find a way to just _do it_. Her body language was so closed off toward him, ever since that day he gave her the nightgown. And even though he was pleased she had not kissed that boy from the village, he had to admit that hearing she refused to kiss Denston made him wonder even more if she would refuse to kiss _him _as well. That would be painful. He was at a point where he had to admit that he had never wanted a girl as badly as he wanted Teta. Rejection at this point would sting, hard.

It was not until the third night of Teta reading aloud to Algus that they reached the scene he had been eagerly waiting for.

Teta haltingly read, "He pulled her into his arms, and she fell against him willingly. He kissed her lips and pulled her bodice—"

Teta was blushing bright red. She set the book down in her lap. "I cannot read the rest of this to you!"

"Oh, why not?" Algus implored, "It was just getting interesting." He was loving her embarrassment.

She gave a quick nervous laugh. "It is—well…" she sputtered.

"Sex?" Algus offered, in answer to her trailing off.

"Yes."

"I do not mind at all if you read about them having sex," he said blithely, "I would rather enjoy it, in fact."

Teta shook her head, still blushing furiously.

"Why does it bother you so much? Are you_ really_ a prude, like they say in the village? You just have no desires?" He said it as if he was only teasing, but he actually was quite curious to know the answer.

"I am not a prude! I have desires like anyone else does!" Teta insisted.

Algus' eyebrows shot up. "You never seem to show it."

"I—how would I show it? The only man who has ever shown any interest in _me _is Denston, of all people! And I truly did not like him!"

Algus leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, and chin resting in his hands as he peered at her. He decided to take a bit of a chance. "Have you ever felt that sort of way about me?" he asked, trying to sound as if it did not matter much to him, and not give away how anxious he really was to know if she found him attractive.

Teta felt so awkward she thought she could spontaneously explode on the spot. She was _not _going to admit her crush on him. She did not want to hear him give some speech about how he was too good for her, as a nobleman. Finally, she replied evasively, "Well, it would be silly of me if I did, would it not? You think I am ugly, and you think I am just an _animal_, since I am a commoner."

Algus had not been expecting that answer. He sat back in his chair, feeling glum that all of his spiteful words of the past were coming back to bite him now. "No!" he insisted, "I do not—I really do not think that. I do not think of you as an animal."

"Well, I _am _a commoner!" she retorted.

Algus did not know how to explain himself. He had said so many nasty things in the past. But over the last three years, he had started to mature a little bit, perhaps. He had fought side-by-side with common men at times, shared meals around campfires with them, and he had begun to realize that in some cases they were not all such bad people. And Teta had become one of his favorite people, in the past month or so. Maybe his very favorite person. But he did not know how to express that in words for her, without having to admit he had been wrong before. He was too proud to say that outright.

"Please, believe me. I do not think you are an animal. And you are very pretty. I like you, Teta," he said.

Teta felt a pang in her chest to hear him say those words. She knew he only meant that he 'liked' her as a friend. But she desperately wished, for a moment, that he meant he 'liked' her romantically. Why could she not stop having these pathetic feelings? Why could she not just accept that he could never love someone like her?

Teta set the book down on the table, then stood. "All right. I think I am ready to go to sleep. If you wish to keep reading tomorrow, I will. We will just have to skip over that… part."

He swallowed hard. "Yes. I would like to read again tomorrow."

00000

The next night, Teta's voice tired out rather quickly, and Algus offered to take a turn reading aloud. Teta found that she liked having the opportunity to close her eyes and listen. She cuddled up in her large armchair and completely relaxed while Algus read. He was not accustomed to reading out loud, and he stumbled over his words a lot more than Teta did, but she did not mind this.

The sound of his voice, alone, was comforting to her. She found herself remembering that day when they hung the tapestry, when he had picked her up, and she had felt his lips and his voice right against her ear. She shivered. She wished he was that close again. She pressed back against the plush chair, and imagined that it was his body against her back, that the words he was currently speaking were being said directly into her ear. It was a nice fantasy, and one that she would never tell him about.

Algus felt a shot of lust run through him at the sight of Teta curling up in her chair, lithe as a cat. Her eyes were closed, and a small contented smile was on her lips. He wanted to put down the stupid book and go over to her. But yesterday, when he had told her he liked her, she had not given him any sort of understandable reply. He knew he was too proud, but he could not stand the idea of trying to kiss her, and having her stop him, or telling him she did not want him in that way.

And in that stalemate, Teta and Algus spent the whole next month.

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	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Hi everyone, I realized I completely forgot to put this disclaimer at the beginning of this story, so I'm just quickly adding it here: DISCLAIMER: I do not recommend or condone any of the words or actions of any of the characters in this story. It's just written for entertainment purposes. Also, of course, I don't own Final Fantasy Tactics. Please enjoy!_

**Chapter Sixteen**

That July had the most extreme weather Limberry had seen in years. Teta's attic bedroom was usually hot and somewhat uncomfortable during the summer months (and she had managed to suffer through it in the past), but this month it had become absolutely unbearable. The air felt like burning soup, that high up in the building. She began to sweat the second she walked into her room.

The first night this happened, Teta brought extra blankets and pillows down into Layla's bedroom and set up a cot of sorts on Layla's floor. Layla's room had large windows they could leave open to catch the breeze, and it was also naturally cooler since it was on a lower floor than Teta's room. Teta figured she could spend each night on this cot on Layla's floor until the heat wave passed.

She quickly learned that this was not the case. Layla was so excited to have Miss Teta spending the night with her in her room that she simply would _not _go to sleep. Layla talked to Teta until the middle of the night, no matter how much Teta begged her to be quiet. Layla also kept climbing out of her own bed to poke at Teta whenever she would not respond to her middle-of-the-night chatter.

Teta knew that she had to figure something else out. She would die of exhaustion if she tried to spend another night in Layla's room. Ultimately, she decided that she would sleep on the floor in the library tonight. It was on the same level as Layla's room, and it also had large windows to keep the room cooler. As long as she packed up her blankets and pillows at sunrise, and took them back to her room, no one should be the wiser that she had spent the night in the library.

After she and Algus finished reading together for the evening, Teta went up to her attic room, pretending as if she were going to spend the night there. She had not told Algus about her predicament. She had already spent the past couple days nagging him that Layla really needed new gowns right away. Algus had grudgingly agreed that he would take Teta and Layla into town in a few days, to bring Layla to the seamstress to be fitted. Teta was extremely excited for the trip to the town, even though she would not be shopping for herself. It would still be fun to see everything there.

Having only just gotten Algus to agree to the shopping trip, Teta felt it would be pushing her luck to also complain to him that she needed a more comfortable room to sleep in.

Upstairs in her attic room, Teta changed into her nightgown, washed her face and teeth at her water basin, grabbed the blankets and pillows she would need to use, and then began to creep through the silent manor, back downstairs to the library. Once inside, she shut the door as quietly as she could. She kept her candle lit while she set up her cot made of blankets and pillows on the floor. She laid atop the folded blankets, and kept only the thinnest one to put over herself. It was far too hot to use anything more than that, even with the library windows open. She was lying down, and almost ready to blow out her candle, when she noticed that the library door had been carefully inched open, and part of a face was peering around the edge.

"Ahhhh!" Teta screamed in surprised fright.

"Fuck!" a voice shouted loudly, in equal surprise, from behind the door. The door swung open all the way to reveal Algus behind it, dressed in his nightclothes. He was holding a sword and a shield. "Teta, what in hell? I feared we had an intruder!"

"I am sorry!" she exclaimed, sitting up.

Now they heard Tom's voice yelling from down the hall. "My lord! Are you well? I heard you shout!" Tom called.

"All is well!" Algus yelled back to him. "You may go back to bed, Tom!"

He turned back to Teta. "What are you doing?" he hissed, "I heard noises coming from in here, and saw that bit of candlelight under the door. I thought I would be slaying a thief in a moment!"

Teta huddled anxiously with her blanket held to her chest. It was sort of scary to see the unsheathed sword in his grip. "I am sorry," she repeated, "I thought I could sleep on the floor in here without anyone noticing. It is too hot upstairs in my room, I cannot bear it in there tonight."

"Why did you not tell me?" Algus demanded.

"I did not wish to bother you," she said.

Algus sighed. He was still coming down from the adrenaline of thinking there was a thief in his home. He walked across the room to set his sword down safely.

"You should always 'bother' me, if something is wrong. Especially something as basic as not having a place to sleep," he said. He walked over to her makeshift bed. "This does not look very comfortable."

"It is not so bad," Teta said.

A gleeful idea occurred to Algus, and he made himself say the words before he could chicken out. "_My_ bed would be far nicer than this. You are welcome to share it tonight."

Teta smiled, embarrassed and yet also titillated at the offer. "You know I cannot sleep in your bed, Algus," she said shyly.

"Well, then move over and make some room for me here. I will not go lay on a comfortable mattress while you sleep on a hard floor," he told her.

He started to climb onto her pile of folded blankets, and snatched one of the pillows from her to put under his head.

Teta scrambled backwards a foot or so. "Algus! You cannot lay with me!"

"Why not?"

"Um… Well… the Church says you may only do that when you are married," Teta said, a bit at a loss for words.

The detail-oriented part of Algus's brain happily spoke up on that topic. "No. You misunderstand, Teta. The Church forbids _having sex_ before you are married. They should not take issue with me simply laying here." He grinned smugly.

Teta was still poised to get up. "I do not know about this," she said.

He tried to give her a reassuring look. He desperately did not want her to go. "How about if I promise I will not touch you while we lay beside each other?"

Teta really was tempted by the idea of it. "All right," she agreed, hesitantly. She laid back down on her pillow. Her feelings for him had not faded, as she had hoped. They had perhaps grown even more intense over time. She thought about him so much when they were apart. And most nights, in her bed, she thought about him in more specific ways, like with his tunic off, that day she watched him cut up the fallen tree…

An event had occurred around two weeks ago, which had really forced Teta to come to terms with how strong her crush on Algus was.

Another noble family had come to the manor to spend a few days paying a social call to Algus and Layla. The Lady of this family was something like a third-cousin to Algus, and she and her Lord husband had brought along their teenage daughter, as well as their teenage son, for the visit. Gossip had immediately stirred among the staff; everyone believed that the daughter had been brought as a potential wife for Algus.

When Teta heard that bit of news, she had felt sheer jealousy in a way she had not even known she was capable of feeling. She felt afraid. She felt like she would lose something very important to her, if Algus married himself off. Luckily, nothing had seemed to come of the visit.

Teta and Algus talked to each other nearly every night, in the library, but she had never found the courage to ask him whether that girl had truly been suggested as a marriage option for him. Teta thought, if she even mentioned the subject, then all the truth about her crush and her jealousy would come pouring out of her mouth in a humiliating stream.

Honestly, Teta thought to herself, what was she even so nervous about, while laying here next to Algus? The strange moment, and his mention of sex, had gotten her confused, and had almost made her think Algus was flirting with her. But she reminded herself now that that was surely not the case. After all, it was_ she_ who had the unrequited lustful feelings for _him_, not the other way around.

Algus took hold of one edge of her blanket, and pulled it so it covered him as well as her. There was only one foot of space between their bodies. They were each laying on their side, facing each other. Algus suddenly remembered the candle burning a couple feet away from them. He quickly sat up, blew it out, and returned to his position under the blanket.

"Well, how do you like my library bed?" Teta asked, after a moment.

_I would like it better if there was not any space between us, _Algus thought to himself. "It is not as bad as I feared," he told her. "Though I still maintain that my actual bed would be more comfortable for us."

_Us, _Teta thought with a smile. She liked the sound of them as an 'us'.

"I am afraid of what Cook would say to me, if I stayed in your bed and anyone found out," she said softly.

Algus chuckled. "Cook would probably try to throw me in her oven, if she found out I had you in my bed. I think she already likes you better than she likes me."

"Well, I _do_ help her with the chores. Instead of begging her for snacks between meals, and making extra work for her," Teta teased.

"Hey, I work hard for those snacks!" he laughed.

Teta smiled. "You do work hard. I will not deny that."

Her hand inched forward. Just a couple inches. It was more of a nervous spasm than a conscious decision to move. Her body was telling her to touch him. Rationally, her mind knew that he would not want her touch. After all, he had just very easily promised that he would _not _touch her while they lay here. Those did not sound like the words of a man who found her attractive at all. But she could not resist, with him laying that close to her. So close she could hear his breath, and feel some of his body heat. In the dark, her fingers were searching.

Teta placed her hand over his, where his hand was resting near his chest. Even that small contact absolutely thrilled her. His hand was much bigger than hers, and his skin was rough with callouses. Algus flipped his palm over and twined his long fingers between hers, holding her soft hand. He figured this would not break his promise 'not to touch', since _she _had made the move in the first place.

He still had no idea what was going through her head. She had seemed ready to flee a moment ago, as if lying beside him would be completely horrible. And now she was holding his hand! "I hope you are not _too_ repulsed, having me here beside you," he said quietly.

Teta made a quiet noise of disbelief. "Of course, I am not repulsed! I always enjoy spending time with you." She paused, gathering her courage. "I love you, Algus… And I know you probably do not want to hear that, since I am just a commoner. But I do. I would never find you repulsive."

Algus felt a tightening in his stomach and chest. It was hard to breathe for a moment. "Teta… I do wish you would stop pointing out that you are a commoner. It does not—it does not _matter_! You are sweet, and beautiful, and you make me laugh with your ridiculous ideas, and you make this manor a happier place to live. Of course, I want to hear you say that you love me!"

"I do," Teta whispered, "I love you."

He squeezed her hand so hard it kind of hurt. "I—I love you, Teta," he said.

_Well, _Algus thought to himself, _Here it is, finally. The most perfect opportunity to kiss her… And, like an utter fool, I have already given my word that I will not touch her tonight. _He wanted to beat his forehead against the floor in frustration.

Teta squeezed Algus's hand back just as hard. "I am happy to have you here while I fall asleep." She felt warmed inside from his words. She would have liked it if some romantic actions could have been added to his speech, but she was not going to ruin the moment by pining away for what she had not gotten. What he had said to her was _wonderful_. She had a tiny smile on her face as she slowly fell asleep.

Algus lay awake a bit longer, listening to her soft sleeping breath. His own eyes began to drift shut, after a time.

In the morning, Teta woke with alarm. "Algus!" she exclaimed, "You fell asleep here with me! We have to get up, quickly!" She could not let any of the servants find them like this. It would make her life hell. Algus rubbed his hands over his face groggily. "What time is it?" he groaned.

"The sun is up! Oh gods, Tom might already be bringing your breakfast up here!" Teta scrambled to gather the pillows and blankets, to take them back up to the attic.

00000

Teta had thankfully made it to the attic this morning without running into Tom, or anyone else. Algus had gone about his day as usual, with hunting and then work. Teta had, of course, spent her day with Layla, doing lessons and having a bit of play time. She and Algus had not crossed paths with each other in the course of the day, and Teta wondered if she would feel embarrassed the next time she faced him.

Last night had been so _intimate_. She and Algus already had a great friendship, and always had a surprisingly fun time talking to each other, but she felt like last night they had both sort of let down their guards for once. She did not regret telling him she loved him. It had felt nice to get that out there, and even nicer to hear it back from him. She did feel a _small _twinge of sadness that he had not done anything more passionate, like maybe kissed her afterward. She supposed she really did have to face the facts now: he loved her as a friend, but he did not like her romantically. She would learn to accept that gracefully, over time.

After dinner, Teta helped Cook finish up the washing, and then she filled the tub basin for her quick evening bath. Teta next went to the library, assuming that Algus would arrive on time for their evening reading entertainment together. She opened another book (one she was reading on her own time, when he was not around), while she waited for him.

Eventually, it seemed that Algus was not coming. There had been an occasional night, here and there, when he did not join her in the library because he was tired or had something else to do… but she had thought he would certainly join her now, considering the oddity of their previous night spent together! When it was time to get ready to go to bed, she shrugged, and went upstairs to change into her nightgown and collect her bedding materials.

She was once again setting up her little cot on the library floor, when Algus finally made his appearance. His face looked rigid and uptight, an expression he had used to wear a lot, before they had gotten to know each other better.

"Algus!" she exclaimed, "I had begun to think I would not see you at all tonight!"

He pressed his lips together in a stern line. "I see you are setting up the bed in here again," he said.

"It is still far too hot to sleep in my bedroom!"

He sighed. "I know that. But I am not going to spend another night sleeping on a floor, and neither are you." He walked over to her, put his arm firmly around her shoulders, and began to steer her out of the library.

Teta did not speak for a minute, as he led her down the hall. She did not know what his plan was, but his arm was around her, and that was all she could really think about at the moment.

Finally, Teta asked, "Where are we going?"

"To my rooms. We are going to sleep in my bed this time."

He said it rather stonily. She glanced up at his face. He still looked stern, but was he maybe also… nervous? Why did he seem nervous?

They arrived at the door to his chambers, and Algus turned to her. "And…" he said slowly, as if the words were hurting him, "I am not going to make any _stupid_ promises not to touch you tonight."

As she looked up at him in surprise, his left arm wrapped tight around her waist while his right hand came up to cradle the side of her head. She closed her eyes as his face came closer and then his lips pressed against hers.

Being kissed felt strange. Good, but strange. She was beyond nervous. She had wanted this for so long.

When Algus finished their first kiss, he quickly captured her mouth again for a second one. A small, high whimper came from the back of her throat, at the feel of his lips on hers again. The sound seemed to excite him. He was grabbing her harder, and she was grabbing him as well.

Teta's hands had gone around Algus's waist, as well as around the back of his neck, and she was squeezing him tightly. She felt out of control of herself. She was pulling at his lower back, forcing his body right against hers, even pressing her own hips forward a bit, to get more contact.

Algus gasped. He reared his head back, and for the first time in her life, Teta was able to see the look of real lust on a man's face. His stare was wild, undone, almost angry-looking, before he grabbed the back of her head even harder and kissed her again, pushing his tongue between her lips, past her teeth. He nearly choked her with it, in his enthusiasm, and she battled it back with her own tongue.

Teta realized she was melting against him, like in that stupid sex scene he had tried to make her read out loud in that book. She did not care, in that moment. She was no longer grabbing at his back, because her hand had moved even lower, to clutch his ass and pull him closer to her. Teta realized she could actually feel the hard press of his sex against her lower belly.

When he next broke their kiss, Algus panted, "Inside!"

He frantically pushed the door open.

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	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Algus led Teta into his chambers. They could not see anything, without any candles lit, but Algus knew the way to his bed, even in the dark, and he guided her through the rooms until they were there.

He pulled back the coverlet. "Come onto the bed, Teta," he said.

She climbed in, and Algus followed her closely. Teta leaned back onto one elbow, and he pursued, stroking his hand over her cheek as he kissed her lips again.

When they parted, Teta's breath was coming quickly. She thought the outline of Algus's broad shoulders looked so sexy, looming beside her in the dark. Still leaning back on her right elbow, she used her free left hand to touch him, stroking the contours of his right shoulder, squeezing the ropy muscles in his upper arm.

She could not believe this was actually happening. She had never dared to believe he would want her like this.

His fingers traced over her cheekbone, her jaw, ever so lightly. As if he felt she were something precious, which he had to handle carefully. "I have wanted to kiss you for such a long time, now," Algus admitted.

Teta smiled gleefully, although he probably could not see it in the dark. "I am happy you did," she replied.

He put his mouth on hers once more, this time not quite as urgent as he had been out in the hallway. He kissed her long and slow, until they both felt dizzy from it.

Algus allowed his hand to trail downward, from her cheek, to her shoulder, until he was eventually cupping her breast. It fit perfectly in his hand. Teta gave a happy moan.

Now, Algus was leaning over her with a bit more pressure as they kissed, pressing against her so that she had to release her elbow and lay back flat on the bed. He kissed her exposed neck, all over, even sucking once at her earlobe and making her cry out in delight. His hand slid down her body, over her nightgown.

He moved ever so slowly. When he came to her lower belly, and Teta realized he would soon slide his hand between her legs, she felt nothing but excitement.

She gasped with pleasure when he actually did it. Her whole world right now was just the feel of him touching her. She had no words. His long fingers were expertly rubbing her, in that most sensitive place, right through the fabric of her nightgown and her panties.

Teta had rubbed herself there plenty of times, alone in her bed at night, but she could swear that he was doing a better job of it than _she_ ever had. Her limbs were jelly. "Oh, Algus…" she sighed.

"Mmm," he made an unintelligible noise, before lifting the skirt of her nightgown. His hand was at the edge of her panties, and then his fingers were sliding the fabric down a few inches, moving inside to touch her.

She arched her back. "Oh!" Teta moaned, stunned at how good that felt. She was digging her nails into his shoulder, but he did not seem to mind it. His fingers were too knowing, rubbing in a sure tender motion from her clit to her opening, again and again. She knew her climax would come soon, if he did not stop.

Even now, she felt a bit of embarrassment, at the idea of that happening to her in front of him. Teta did not know much about these things. She did not even know whether or not it was normal that she touched herself between her legs, for pleasure. What would Algus think of it?

"Algus… is this not wrong… for us to do?" she gasped.

"It does not feel wrong," he murmured. His fingers kept rubbing, as he bent to kiss her on her mouth again. After a minute, Algus changed the position of his hand. His index finger very gently pressed at the opening of her vagina, and carefully, slowly slid inside. She felt the progress of every knuckle, she was so tight around him.

"Oh, gods!" Teta's breath came in short, frantic gasps. She had never done _that_ to herself before. But it felt incredible.

"You feel so good," Algus whispered. His finger inside her made a slow and gentle beckoning motion, while his thumb still pressed against her clit.

Teta threw her head back against the bed. It was too much. She was climaxing, and it was happening whether she was embarrassed or not. Her pussy clenched, dripping wet around Algus's finger, as she lost control and let out a strangled cry of bliss.

"Yes, Teta," he groaned, so pleased. Feeling her come on his hand was like something out of his happiest dreams. How many times had he fantasized about touching her like this?

Even while feeling the aftershocks of her pleasure, Teta was already mortified. When Algus withdrew his finger from her, she scrambled backward a little bit, away from him. She sat up and huddled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her face in them.

She felt his hand stroking over her hair, and then his arm carefully draped around her shoulders, squeezing her. "What is wrong?" he asked.

"…I am embarrassed," she whispered miserably. "You must really think I am an animal, now, for enjoying that!" she exclaimed. She had heard him remark to another nobleman, a couple years ago, that commoners fucked in gutters, unable to control their baser urges.

Algus gave a surprised laugh. He really never could predict what the hell she was going to say next. "Teta, I _wanted_ to make you enjoy that."

"You did not think it was too 'common' of me, feeling lustful?" she asked, uncertainly.

"Of course not!" He gave another laugh. "Perhaps you will feel better if you see how lustful you have made _me_."

Naturally, she could not actually 'see' much, in the dark room, but he took off his nightclothes so that he was naked before her. He eagerly took her hand and placed it on his manhood. "Do you feel how hard you make me?" he said, biting back the sounds that wanted to come out of his mouth at the feel of her soft fingers wrapped around him.

"Yes," Teta whispered. Her hand explored along his shaft. She had never even seen a man's erection before, let alone touched one. "It is very big," she said finally.

Algus grinned at the compliment. "Do you want to feel it inside you?" he asked.

Teta felt dizzy at the question. _Yes, yes I do, _she thought to herself. But she replied, "Algus… you know we cannot do that. You yourself said that the Church forbids it."

Teta's hand being wrapped gently around his cock was driving him mad. He needed more. Algus put his hand over hers and squeezed, moving it up and down, trying to show her how to rub him in the way that felt best.

"I want to take you so badly. I do not care what the Church thinks about it," he groaned, as her clenched fist moved up and down.

"Well, I—I care," she stammered. She took her hand off of him.

"I would not force you, Teta. But I wish you would change your mind. Just lay back, and let me get on top of you. I will try to make you feel good again," he pleaded.

Teta's whole body tingled at the idea of it. But that was a major decision to make. She felt like it would be rash to go forward. "That would make me your whore," she said quietly. "I know that is not a good thing to be."

Algus tried hard to think clearly. It was not easy, with most of his blood in the lower half of his body at the moment. He pulled her into his arms, awkwardly. "I would never think of you like that," he tried to reassure her. "I could not marry you, but I could still _treat _you as well as I would my wife. Am I not kind to you, Teta?"

Teta nodded, reluctantly. "You_ are_ kind to me. But I do not think I can… do that. I am sorry. Would you prefer if I went back to the library?" she asked quietly.

Algus let out a very long sigh. He felt lightheaded from being that aroused, with no release. But he did not want to upset her any more than he already had. "No, I want you to stay here," he said. "I want to sleep beside you, even if I cannot have you tonight."

"I am sorry," Teta repeated.

"I know," he said, glumly. "It is all right."

He pulled his nightclothes back on, and they settled into the bed to sleep.

00000

Teta was feeling full of remorse when she woke the next morning. Of course, Algus had told her that she had done nothing wrong, in the eyes of the gods, since they had not actually had sex with each other. But she did not know if that was completely true. She had lain in his bed, and he had touched her _everywhere_. It did not seem innocent.

She found she was feeling a bit shaken and guilty, from everything that had occurred last night. In the harsh morning light, she was feeling like a bad person. She tried to convey this to Algus, as they were making their way out of bed. But it was hard to explain, and he did not seem to understand her worries.

"I do not think I can do this again," she said tearfully. "I do not want to go against the gods, Algus."

He put his hands on her shoulders and rested his forehead against her forehead. "It will be all right! We have done nothing wrong!"

"It does not feel like it. I think… It would be wrong for me to continue sleeping in the same bed with you. I will sleep in the library again tonight. You do not need to worry about me; it is comfortable enough."

Algus gave an aggravated groan. "Not this again, Teta. I love you! Why can you not stay with me?"

Teta's lip trembled, but she said obstinately, "I think I must sleep elsewhere."

A harsh look flashed across his face, for just a moment. Then he let go of her, with his expression unreadable. He said sadly, "If you will not sleep with me in my bed, then sleep in one of the guest bedchambers for now, at least. I will not tell anyone you are in there."

This was a very generous offer on his part. The guest chambers were only ever given to visiting nobility. Even after sleeping in Algus's bed, Teta was surprised, and rather touched, that he would allow her this.

"That is very kind. But I must go now," she said, nervously.

00000

The day went by in a melancholy blur for Teta. She did her best to hide her bad mood from Layla. The little girl laughed, and chatted up a storm, and insisted on going for a long walk in the gardens, as usual. But Teta feigned every smile she gave that day. Inside, she was a mess.

Over dinner, at the scrubbed wooden table where she typically ate with Cook and Tom, Teta could not find any drive to talk. After Cook had failed to engage her in conversation a few times, Tom commented, "Teta, you are so quiet today?"

"Oh, I am sorry," Teta said, "my mind is elsewhere. I am having a strange day."

Cook said, "Every time I see that look on Heather's face, it's usually because of a boy."

Teta evaded this not-so-subtle probe into her personal life. "Heather is interested in a new boy every single week. Please do not compare her to _me_, Cook!" She forced a smile, to make the words seem lighthearted.

After dinner, Teta spent almost two hours soaking in the bathtub. The water had long-since lost its warmth, but she did not feel like moving. She did not feel like doing much of anything, really.

Teta had not asked if Algus was planning to come to the library to read this evening, but she had already decided not to go there herself. Her mind was still so scrambled up; she was not ready to see him yet.

Still, she could not stop thinking about him. It had felt like being in a dream when he first kissed her. It had been everything she had wanted.

But what did she do from here? She was fairly certain that if she continued on the path they had started down, then she would end up giving all of herself to him. And if she did not continue? What if she stopped meeting with him in the evenings, never kissed him again, never went to his bed again? Did the _right_ thing, for the sake of her faith?

She would be miserable. She knew that.

Worse, she started to imagine, a day would eventually come when he found someone else. He would marry some girl of the minor nobility, like himself. As a governess in his house, Teta would grow old while watching him find happiness with some other woman. Watching him learn to love someone else, when he had once loved her.

She would always have to wonder what else might have been, if she had just done what she actually desired.

Teta sat up fast, sloshing water over the sides of the tub.

00000

He was not in the library, so he was probably already in his rooms. Teta made her way through the darkened halls of the manor in a daze, like a ghost in her long white nightgown. She thought she could _feel_ him on the other side of the door when she knocked.

He seemed surprised to see her. "Teta. I thought—"

"I was being a fool this morning!" she blurted out, "I do not want to sleep in the guest rooms. I want to sleep with you."

Algus gave a mirthful snort, and gestured for her to come in. "All right. What changed your mind?"

Teta put her arms around him and rested her face against his neck. "I realized… I want to be with you, no matter what the circumstances. I always hate to be away from you."

"I know. It is the same for me," he said.

"Perhaps the gods will forgive me for laying with you, because I _am_ in love with you, Algus. Perhaps that is good enough." Teta said.

Algus did not reply with words. There had been so many words between them, already. He thought they would be better served by action.

Holding hands, he led her into the bedroom. He still had one candle left burning in here, as he had not yet retired for the night.

Standing beside the bed, Algus removed his clothing. All of it. Teta went wide-eyed with surprise at his sudden nudity.

He put his hands lightly at her hips, grabbing handfuls of her nightgown. He lifted, and she raised her arms so he could pull it off of her entirely.

Teta found she did not feel so very shy about this, with him already bare in front of her. She loved the way his body looked, and felt, and she thought it would feel amazing to be able to press their naked skin together.

When he finished removing her nightgown, Algus's hands greedily made their way to her bare breasts, gently fondling them. She giggled nervously, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. He moved his hands downward, skimming along her ribs and waist and hips, until he found the waistband of her panties. He pushed them down, and then he gripped her butt cheeks tightly.

It felt as good as Teta had imagined it would, to have her bare body pressed right against his. As she tilted her face up and kissed him, she felt a bright desire shooting through her. She was tingling wherever he touched her, and beginning to feel a hot liquid ache between her legs.

"I want to lay down," she told him breathily.

On the bed, Algus moved between her legs as she lay on her back. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, as his eyes traveled over her.

She stared down at his erection, now looming between her knees. The sight excited her, in a way that felt almost primal. His manhood was thick, and flushed red, the head of it sort of dome-shaped. She reached down and grabbed it, making Algus moan. In her hand, she thought it felt like silk over iron; it was so very hard beneath the soft skin.

This time, when he asked in a low voice whether she wanted it inside of her, she immediately said yes.

Algus used his hand to locate her opening, and he pressed the blunt head of his cock against her.

It hurt when he pushed it in. There was no escaping that fact. But there was also something more than just the pain, Teta thought. Something tender and intimate, about having him deep inside her body like that. Teta kept her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and neck as he moved on top of her. She moaned his name.

With his face nearly forced against her neck, Algus kissed her there repeatedly. She wrapped her legs around his hips. All four of her limbs now clutching him, Teta felt as lovingly entwined with Algus as she could possibly be. He rocked slowly back and forth inside her.

Eventually, Algus pried loose from the tight grip of her arms, enough that he could lift his head to look at her face.

"Does it still hurt you?" he asked.

Teta closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes," she replied softly, "but it feels good, as well."

When they were done, he laid down beside her. They held each other for a minute, before Algus rose to get a cloth to clean themselves up with. He asked her a few times whether she was all right, and Teta assured him that she was. She was happy to have done this with him.

Teta was happy to be with him, no matter what came next. Being in his arms felt like home.

00000

_A/N: And now that is really the end of this fic! Of course, in some ways, I guess this is like a never-ending story, because you would have to go back to Chapter Two again to read about how the rest of their night together goes, haha. I hope everyone enjoyed these last chapters, please review if you get a chance! Also, on another note, I have been working on a different story, which is a Ramza/Meliadoul fic, for a couple weeks now. I basically started writing it for my own entertainment, because ideas for fun scenes were coming to me. I've always shipped Ramza with Meliadoul, probably because the day they meet she is literally trying to kill him, and I'm just a sucker for an enmity-turns-to-crush relationship story. But I know that many people ship Ramza/Agrias, so I don't know if anyone would actually be interested in reading my Ramza/Meliadoul fic. Let me know if you do want me to post it! If people are interested in reading it, then I'll finish writing it and start posting chapters. Thanks for reading!_


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